The Unforgiven
by scarlett2112
Summary: Shark biologist, Dr. Damon Salvatore, his brother and a core group of friends work tirelessly to make his dream a reality. When he meets his summer intern, Elena Gilbert, his world is turned on its head. When her secrets begin to add up, Damon can't help but wonder who the real Elena is and what is she hiding?
1. Chapter 1

_"Can we go in the water, dad?" I ask, chomping at the bit to put my boogie board in the surf off the North Carolina coast. We live in a grand old lighthouse. It's every kids dream to live in a lighthouse. There are all kinds of nooks and crannies to hide in. I'm the youngest of three kids. Matt is the oldest followed by Stefan and then me._

 _"Yes, you can go in the water but don't go too far out," he warns me albeit with a smile on his face. Although we live on the ocean, dad is very over the top about our safety. A good friend of his drown when he was a boy so he insists that he always come down to the shore with us. Usually he brings his cell phone and lap top so he can work while he's basking in the sun's warmth while my brothers and I swim or rough house in the surf._

 _I also enjoy collecting shells and sand dollars. We have a small boat so there are times dad takes us out fishing. My mom is the best cook. She works magic with the fish we catch. Stefan and Matt love to surf. I'm not quite ready to tackle that yet but I do like my boogie board._

 _It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the waves are lapping the shore line. I love living here. Once we get down the water's edge, I jump walk in, smiling at the feeling of sand between my toes. Once I get into waist deep water, I get on my board and paddle out a little farther._

 _The water is chilly and a little murky today but I still love how being in the water is like floating. I'm pretty much minding my own business, lost in my own little world as I float among the waves. When I hear yelling, I sit up, hanging my legs over the sides of my board. Looking towards shore, I see my dad and brothers frolicking on the beach, tossing a football to each other. When I look around, I realize that I've drifted pretty far out so I start paddling to get closer to the shore. Feeling a painless tug on my leg, I look down, my eyes widening in fear when I see the water turning red._

 _Confused, I look up only to see my dad motioning frantically for me to get to shore but I'm too far out to hear what he's saying. Suddenly I'm knocked off of my board with a jolt. Finding myself staring into the cold black eyes and razor sharp teeth of a bull shark, I panic and begin thrashing hard to get to the surface. Starting to feel faint and short of breath, I struggle, trying to get away. My leg hurts so I reach down, feeling only a shard of bone and tattered flesh. Terror fills my body as I start to flail in the surf. Even though I'm certain I'm either going to bleed to death or drown, I helplessly founder, trying to stay afloat._

 _Miraculously, I feel someone grab ahold of my arms and pull me onto the beach. Although it feels like I'm in a dream world, I hear someone yelling to call 911 before succumbing to the darkness.._

Lurching upright in bed, I take a couple of deep breaths when I realize that it was a nightmare. Reaching down, I feel my stump. I lost my left leg just below the knee that day. Fortunately, there was enough of my leg left that they were able to save my knee. It still aches sometimes. I had to do a lot of rehab to learn how to walk again with an artificial leg. Besides getting callouses in my arm pits from crutches, I also got blisters from the first prosthesis I had. Fortunately they were able to fit me with a stump sock and new prosthesis that fit well.

As I grew up, I had to be refitted with one from time to time to accommodate my growth. The first time I went back in the water, I felt a deep visceral fear. I would only go out a short distance and only when the water was clear enough for me to see any predators lurking. My parents took me to a counselor. Losing a body part is pretty traumatic for an eight year old. At least I lived to tell the tale.

Unable to get back to sleep, I decide to get up. I grab onto my crutches and hobble into the bathroom to shower. Once dressed, I put my leg on, jump in my car and drive to work. Rather than hating sharks, I decided I needed to learn all I could about them. I threw myself into studying them, eventually deciding to turn my newfound love of sharks into a career. I have relocated to the west coast. Every day I'm living my dream as a shark biologist working with other researchers at the Marine Conservation Institute.

I spend my time researching shark behavior in waters surrounding Guadalupe Island in Mexico. I also spend valuable time studying the sharks that inhabit the waters in and around the Farallon Islands. The Farallons are a group of islands and sea stacks in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco. They lie thirty miles outside the Golden Gate and twenty miles south of Point Reyes, and are visible from the mainland on clear days. The only inhabited portion of the islands is on Southeast Farallon Island which is where I stay from time to time so I can get up close and personal with the sea life common to this area.

Having hit a traffic jam and bumper to bumper traffic, I'm in a lousy mood by the time I walk into my office.

"Good morning, Dr. Salvatore," my secretary, Jenna greets me.

"Morning," I huff then step into my office, dropping my brief case on my desk. It's foggy and overcast today so my leg is bothering me on top of everything else. Just as I'm about to sit down, Jenna steps into my office.

While handing me a cup of coffee, Jenna tells me, "Dr. Salvatore, your summer intern is here." Rolling my eyes, I sigh exaggeratedly.

Dropping into my chair, I take a sip of my coffee. "Thanks Jenna. Send him in."

"Um... Dr. Salvatore, it's not a him, it's a her."

"Alane Gilbert is a she?"

"Yes, Dr. Salvatore, I am a she and my name is Elena Gilbert," she sings songs. Raising my eyes, my mouth drops slightly when I see the beauty who's now standing in my doorway.

* * *

 _Welcome to the new story. I finally got through the rough patch and all I have left to write of this is polishing up the epilogue. I do hope you'll like this. I LOVE SHARKS. I think they're the most fascinating creatures. Yes, I eat 'Shark Week' up! I was so excited to post this, I forgot to thank Eva for being the best friend and beta ever. Also to another truly great friend, Kate for making and gifting me with yet another beautiful cover. 'What if I Was Nothing' will update later this week as will 'Shatter Me'._

 _Anxious to hear what you think of this. Have a fabulous day everyone. REVIEWS ARE LOVE..._


	2. I Believe I Can Fly

_Several weeks prior:_

"Damon, don't forget you have that lecture at 'Sonoma State' in Rohnert Park the day after tomorrow," my brother, Matt reminds me. Dropping into a chair, he makes himself at home, putting his feet up on my desk.

Sighing animatedly, I shake my head. "Uh, I hate giving lectures," I lament, sitting back and putting my own feet up.

"I know you do, Damon. But it's your lectures that bring in the big bucks," he reminds me, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know."

"Have you talked to mom and dad?"

"Why?"

"Damon, you'll always be their baby boy...," he chuckles. I pull my desk drawer open, grab ahold of my Nerf football and lob it at his head. Unable to hold back my laugh when I make a direct hit, he glares at me playfully before hitting me back with it.

"But seriously, why are you asking if I've talked to them?"

"They're thinking about coming out here for your birthday this year. We haven't been back to North Carolina for a couple of years now."

"I hope they do. I would love to take them out on the boat to see the sharks up close and personal."

"Mom would freak!"

"Yeah, she probably would. She hates them since..."

"I know Damon. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was so scared you were going to die. You lost over half of your blood volume. It was really fate that Dr. Randall happened to be on the beach that day...," he reminisces, his eyes never leaving mine. Reaching down, I instinctively feel the hard plastic of my prosthesis.

"I'm going to go, I promised my wife that I'd take her on a date tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, little brother."

"Bye Matt." He turns around and nods before stepping out of my office.

* * *

"Class, I'd like to introduce Dr. Damon Salvatore. He's a renowned Shark Expert, having received his PhD in Marine Biology with a specialization in Ichthyology. Dr. Salvatore has been a recipient of many awards for excellence in Marine research and Ichthyology. He received his PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. Please welcome him," Dr. Stuart tells the students, announcing my presence. I walk up the podium to applause and shake his hand. He smiles then steps back to take a seat at his desk.

"How are you all today?" I begin. They give me another light round of applause. I take the time to give my audience a cursory glance before looking down at my notes for a moment. When I look around the room a second time, I see the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen. Our eyes meet for a long moment and it's like only the two of us exist for those couple of seconds. Shaking it off, I begin.

"Very few animals generate a mixture of fascination and terror as the Great White Shark. Which is unfortunate because the anti-shark sentiment has led to the unnecessary slaughter of many of these beautiful creatures. White Sharks have been listed for international protection under the 'Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. They were listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. A thorough understanding of the Great White's history is important for the preservation of these sharks. It allows us to readily identify regions and life stages in which they or any sharks are at their most vulnerable," I explain to them. Looking over my audience again, I notice a scruffy haired guy staring at me intently while a couple others seem bored as their eyes are closed. A couple more are texting with their cell phones.

I stop for a minute to take a sip from my water bottle. "The elephant seal population attracts Great White sharks to the islands. In 1970, a Farallon biologist witnessed their first shark attack. It was on a Steller's sea lion. Over the course of the next fifteen years, more than a hundred attacks on seals and sea lions were observed at close range. By the year 2000, biologists were logging almost eighty attacks in a single season. Previous to this, no one had ever documented such behavior among great whites."

After once again staring into the eyes of that doe-eyed beauty, I continue, "The males return annually while the females only every other year, often with fresh, deep bites around their heads. The seasonal population at the Farallones is anyone's guess. The estimates range anywhere from thirty to one hundred. The Farallones are unique given the size of the Great White that are attracted. They average from just over thirteen feet to almost sixteen feet with a weight range of fifteen hundred to twenty four hundred and fifty pounds. Females are generally larger than their male counterparts. Farallon Great Whites average around thirteen feet for the males and the females are generally seventeen to nineteen feet. The largest accurately measured female was caught in August of 1988 at Prince Edward Island off the North Atlantic coast and measured twenty point three feet."

I smile when I hear the oohs and awes. "Some individual sharks have been tagged and found to roam the Pacific as far as Hawaii, returning regularly to the Farallones every year in the autumn. Orcas have been seen attacking the sharks." Looking around the room again, I turn away quickly when I see a red-haired girl outrageously flirting with me.

Discreetly shaking my head, I take a moment to look over my notes. "As in every other job, there is cut-throat competitiveness, inflated egos, rampant jealousy, petty grudges, betrayal of trust, taking credit for other's work which are just a few of the perils in dealing with people. Believe me, I'm not that jaded," I tell them.

"There are also incredible generosities, mutually beneficial alliances, incredibly generous people and personally, I've made some really deep and life long friendships in this profession. But unfortunately it seems unpleasant experiences are far more common than pleasant ones. These are just some of the problems inherent to working with others' ambitions and insecurities. Unfortunately these problems tend to exacerbate in matters such as those concerning White Sharks or shark attacks," I add, pausing to take another drink from my water bottle.

"I can't close without telling you that there are plenty of ethical, meticulous, hard working, wonderful people working in shark research who do what they do because they love it. But, far too often, the work of these dedicated scientists seems to be overwhelmed in the public eye by relatively few self-styled shark researchers who are unethical, methodologically sloppy, thoroughly untrustworthy disreputable charlatans and so called experts who care nothing for the ideals and practices of Science but do what they do because they want attention and adulation," I continue, shaking my head.

"These people are often skilled politicians and can be tough to identify until after they've shown their true motives. These people are often easy to spot: they vigorously seek out media exposure, toss around a lot of scientific-sounding terminology, criticize everyone else's work, and do not publish scientific literature. It is important to avoid these types because, in shark research as in many other fields for that matter, the quality of one's work is often at least as important as with whom he or she associates," I mention as I finish my speech.

"Dr. Salvatore, do you have time to take a few questions?" Dr. Stuart asks.

"Sure." Looking out over my audience, I see a guy stand up.

"Dr. Salvatore, what sparked you interest in sharks?" he asks.

"When I was a young boy, I had an up close and personal encounter with one. I've been consumed with them ever since." I tell him honestly, leaving out the part about losing a leg to it.

"You," I ask, pointing to another student.

"What kinds of things do you do?" the flirty girl asks.

"Shark research isn't nearly as glamorous as people imagine it to be. For the most part, shark research is like any other job. It's involves hard work and drudgery. For each moment of you get to examine rare specimens, conduct experiments in the lab, or observe sharks in the wild, you have to invest hundreds or thousands of hours in teaching, crunching numbers, writing reports, obtaining permits, and begging for funding and/or equipment," I reply with a shake of my head.

"Dissections are not a lot of fun; each is a slow, painstaking, smelly affair that can take days of concentrated effort; you'll need to do dozens or hundreds of dissections to obtain both a good understanding of biological variation and publishable results. Lab work is meticulous and highly repetitive, often frustrated by equipment that won't work or samples that have become contaminated somehow or are otherwise useless." Glancing over my audience again, I smile slightly when I see that doe eyed girl staring at me intently, taking in every word I speak.

"Field work can be uncomfortable and loaded with frustration. Often the weather won't cooperate, your equipment doesn't work, or the sharks simply are nowhere to be found. Learning something new and significant about shark behavior or ecology can take years or decades. No matter how you go about it, shark research is very difficult to break into and there are no short cuts. It takes years of dedication, persistence, hard work, and luck, and even then there are no guarantees."

Feeling a tickle in my throat, I reach up to cover my mouth to clear my throat. After taking the last swallow from my water bottle, I continue.

"Despite technological advances that open new ways to explore and study the natural world, studying sharks is tougher than ever before. Many shark populations have been reduced to a fraction of their historical abundance, making it increasingly difficult to find enough individuals on which to base a good, statistically sound study. The availability of government funding is decreasing and the number of qualified scientists clamoring for their share of those funds is increasing rapidly. Consequently, competition for research funding is much more intense than ever before. Most funding for shark research is poured into collecting basic data needed to manage commercially exploited species, with precious little remaining to support other shark studies," I finish.

"Anyone else?" I ask. Since no one raises there hands, I step away from the podium. Looking up, I see the kids starting to file out of the classroom. As I begin to gather my notes, I look up again when I hear my name. My breath hitches just slightly when I see that same lovely young lady staring back at me.

"Dr. Salvatore, my name is Elena," she informs me, offering her hand.

Taking her hand in mine, I feel a jolt of something, unlike anything I've ever felt before. Shaking off my momentary haze, I take her hand. "It's nice to meet you Elena. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd have time for a cup of coffee?"

Glancing at my watch, I have about a half hour before Matt shows up to pick me up. He and Caroline decided to ride along with me today. They dropped me off and went their merry way with the promise of coming back for me later. Gesturing for her to go first, I reply, "Lead the way."

She leads me to a little coffee shop just across the street from the campus. Once we have our coffee in hand, she leads me to a booth. She slides in on one side while I sit down on the other side. After taking a drink, I ask, "So how can I help you?"

"I'll be honest with you. I'm a bit wary of sharks, they're scary. I guess I wanted to know why you find them so fascinating?"

"They are scary," I acknowledge, tilting my head just slightly.

"Yes, they really are. Did you ever read 'Jaws'?" she asks.

"I did read 'Jaws'. It's a good read and I still enjoy the movie." I admit, smiling. "What is your interest in marine biology then?"

"Honestly, I love the whales. I hope to learn more about Blue whales but they're so elusive. They're not photographed all that often. I think Giant Squid are fascinating too."

"Really?"

Chucking slightly, she nods.

"You just don't look much like a squid girl," I laugh.

"Ha ha," she says, rolling her eyes before breaking out in a smile.

"You say you're wary of sharks, hate them even, is there a story there?" I ask, taking another swallow of my drink.

She stares down at her hands, clenched around her mug for a moment before raising her eyes to stare into mine. When she sucks her bottom lip between her teeth it sends a shiver of lust up my spine.

"Not really. I just don't get why everyone is so gung ho about sharks in general. I mean there's shark week every year among other things. Why don't they have a whale week? I mean there are a lot more less monstrous creatures roaming the oceans."

"I bet I could change your mind about them," I challenge.

"I doubt that," she replies, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Why don't you apply for a summer internship with my group? I'm stationed at the Farallon's right now but I'm also going to be taking our vessel down to Guadalupe Island too. They just filmed a giant Great White down there. She's huge, over twenty feet and she's a beauty," I say, shaking my head in awe.

"Wow," she laughs, shaking her head.

"What?" I answer laughing with her although I don't know why.

"Don't hold this against me but you looked like you orgasmed just talking about her."

My eyes widen before I shake my own head. "Damn near," I admit, shuddering slightly.

"Tell me about this internship."

"You'll have to apply. If accepted, you'll spend the summer with my crew and I as we study the sharks. We go into the water with them, tag them if we can get close enough then we analyze the data. It's fascinating work. They travel thousands of miles," I explain.

Glancing at her watch, she looks at me a little frazzled. "I didn't realize how late it was. I have another class I have to get to. Thank you, Dr. Salvatore. It was really nice to meet you," she says, smiling offering me her hand.

Standing up, I flirting with her using my eye thing, I take her hand and press a kiss to it. "The pleasure was all mine, miss..."

"Please call me Elena," she says, staring at her hand.

"Don't forget to apply, Elena. Here is one of my cards. You'll find all the information you need on my website."

"Thank you. Goodbye." she replies running out of the door.

Sitting back down in the chair, I take a moment to finish my coffee. Although I doubt that she'll take me up on my offer, I still can't help the smile that forms on my lips at the thought of spending more time with her.

* * *

"So how did your lecture go yesterday?" Caroline asks, downing her shot of tequila.

"Uh," I don't want to talk about work. Tonight is supposed to be a time out," I whine.

"Ah, poor baby," she pouts. Sticking her tongue out at me, she reaches over and musses my hair up.

"Hey?" I protest, sticking my lower lip out.

"Here you guys are! We've been looking for you," Ric says, pulling out a chair, Brady taking the chair to his left.

"Why didn't you just text?" Shrugging his shoulders, he just says, "I don't know."

The waitress steps over and refills all of our drinks. "I'm taking the boat out tomorrow. Who's with me?" I ask, taking a slog of my beer.

"I'm in," Brady replies, signaling our waitress to bring us a pitcher of beer. "The sea lions and elephant seals are starting to show up. It's like ringing the dinner bell," he observes, taking a swallow of his drink.

"Me too," Ric replies. "You in, Matt?"

"Yep," he says exaggeratedly. "Can't let little bro go out on the water all by himself."

"Did I tell you that Stefan called?" Matt mentions out of the blue.

"He didn't say much, just talked about school. He said he's going to come out here with mom and dad next month if he can get off from work."

"It'll be good to see him," I say, staring into my beer.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Looking up when I hear that voice, I roll my eyes when I see that it's Nick Michaelson.

"Don't you have someone else you can bother?" I huff, rolling my eyes.

"Not really, Damon," he replies, raising his eye brows. His arm is draped around Jule's shoulder.

"How are you Jules?" I ask, flashing my eye thing just to irritate Nick. When she doesn't say anything, I up the ante a little.

"Come on Jules, you know you liked it. You told me that I was your best," I smirk, winking at her suggestively. Next thing I know I'm in a heap on the floor, reeling from a punch to the mouth. Feeling the sting in my lip, I reach up with my fingers to touch my now fat lip. At the same time, I taste my blood when the coppery scent touches my tongue. Pulling my fingers away, I see red covering the tips. I look up to see Ric holding him back. Matt offers me his hand to help me up. I can't help the laugh that escapes knowing I got such a rise out of him.

"Don't you ever talk to my girlfriend like that again!" He demands, pointing his finger at me.

"She's the one who came onto me. I guess you just weren't doing it for her," I reply, taunting him further.

"Why you son of a bitch," he sneers, trying to get out of Ric's grasp. Brady steps in to help restrain him.

"Let's just go Nick," Jules says, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"He isn't worth it," she adds, while staring at me with disdain.

"Bye now," I tell them, throwing back the rest of my beer. "That was fun," I joke, rubbing my sore jaw.

"Damon, Damon," Caroline mutters, shaking her head. "When are you ever going to grow up?"

"Hey, he started it."

"No he didn't, you did."

"Details..." I scoff. Reaching down, I rub my knee. My stump is aching now from landing on the floor. Well guys, I'm going to go home."

"Is your leg okay?" Matt asks, concerned.

"Yeah, it's fine. It just hurts from landing on it. I'll just take some Advil when I get home. Goodnight everyone."

"Night," they all tell me. I turn around when I get to the entrance and look back at my brother. He tilts his head in concern. I wave my hand and walk out of the bar and into the balmy night, my mind drifting back to that bewitching girl, Elena.

* * *

 _A little levity to lighten things up. Damon is a character!... 'Jaws' is the only movie I've ever screamed at. How many of you know that the book 'Jaws' was spawned by the real life 1916 shark attacks on the Jersey shore? Five people were killed by a 'rogue shark'. Fascinating book about it: 'The Twelve Days of Terror" A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks by Dr. Richard Fernicola._

 _Thank you Eva. I can't begin to thank you for all of your help. Thank you all for your reviews, favorites and follows and for taking an interest in this story. I know I mentioned it already but I do love sharks. One of the things on my bucket list is to see a 'Great White' in its natural habitat. I don't know that I'd have the nerve to get into a shark cage but I'd love to see it swimming in the ocean._

 _A lot of the information in this chapter came from an internet search. I learn a lot as I write these stories too._

 _I did just update 'Shatter Me' and 'What If I Was Nothing' updated yesterday. Please give them a look too. Again, have a safe and lovely weekend. Until next time. *REVIEWS ARE LOVE****_


	3. Light A Fire

_Present time:_

 _Yes, Dr. Salvatore, I am a she and my name is Elena Gilbert," she sing songs. Raising my eyes, my mouth drops slightly when I see the beauty who's standing in my doorway._

"You?" I utter once I pick my jaw up and off of the floor.

"Do you remember me, Dr. Salvatore?" she asks, challenging me with a raise of her eyebrows.

Shaking my head, I start to chuckle. "Yes, I remember you, miss 'wary of sharks' Elena."

"The one and only," she taunts, albeit with a smile.

"I'm kind of surprised to see you here. You didn't seem so keen on the internship when we talked about it?"

"You challenged me. I'm not one to slink away from one." She volleys back, shrugging her shoulders.

"Where are my manners," I utter, standing up.

"Come with me, I'll show you around," I tell her, motioning for her to follow along. When we reach my brother's office, I rap on the door and open it slightly.

"Can I come in, Matt?"

"Of course, I'm just charting some of the transmitter pings," he tells me, his nose in some charts on his desktop.

"Matt this is Elena Gilbert. Elena, this is my big brother Matt Salvatore. He also has a degree in marine science plus he's the captain of my boat," I tell her. Matt stands up, walks around his desk, extending his hand to her. She takes a hold, shaking it with a smile.

When we hear someone say, "Matt," we turn our heads and look towards the door just as Caroline walks inside. She walks over to him to press a kiss to his lips.

"Elena, this is Matt's wife, Barbie," I tease, raising my eyebrows suggestively at Caroline.

As expected, she gives me a shove. "I'm Caroline. It's great to meet you," she says, taking Elena's hand.

"Elena accepted the internship for the summer," I explain to her.

After focusing my gaze back on Elena, I continue, "Caroline goes on the boats with us sometimes, keeping us on our toes. She both works in our lab analyzing samples and that kind of thing. Plus she helps me with my public schedule. You know, lectures, conferences, that type of thing. She's a little too smart for her own good," I whisper animatedly while smiling at my sister in law. When Elena starts laughing, Caroline links her arm with hers.

"Come with me. I'll introduce to the rest of our group. You and I are going to be fast friends," Caroline tells her, leading her out of the Matt's office.

"She's pretty," Matt acknowledges, watching as the two girls walk down the hall.

"Yep, she sure is," I agree, winsomely.

* * *

After Caroline showed Elena around our complex and introduced her to everyone. We met back in my office to go over some of the things we'll be doing this summer. I explain that we have a boat trip planned for the Baja Peninsula and Guadalupe Island in a few weeks. The group I work for, 'Marine Conservation Inc.' is providing the funding. We get government grants plus we have some private benefactors as well as the money that many of us bring in from giving lectures and offering our expertise to conferences etc. I start to explain to her what goes on down south.

"During the time the females are giving birth along the Baja Peninsula they are exposed to an array of dangers, for example, commercial fishing. The baby white sharks are at even more risk since they spend the first years of their life in coastal waters and their small size makes them even more susceptible to capture. Once the young sharks are born, the females return to Guadalupe Island to mate again."

Leaning back in my desk chair, I tent my fingers and stare at her for a moment. She seems interested but I can still see a hint of shark-related fear in her eyes.

"Past studies have found a high prevalence of bite marks on the sharks. Male sharks bite the head, flank or pectoral fin of females during the mating ritual. As with any other species, male sharks battle it out for access to the ladies," I add with a wink.

"The females return to mate every two years, the males only return every other year. We want to try to tag some of these sharks so we can track their travels as it were. So Elena, may I call you Elena?"

"Yes, please do."

"Do you think you're up for it? It's grueling and dangerous work sometimes," I ask her, needing to know if she'll be able to handle things.

"I'll handle it. Despite my dislike of sharks, I do realize that they have their place as the ocean's apex predator."

"They absolutely do."

"You can go home for the day if you want to. I'm just going to finish up some reports anyway. Tomorrow you can spend the day with Caroline, familiarizing yourself with our set up here and getting to know the ropes. I won't be in my office tomorrow anyway. The guys and I have a meeting we have to go to tomorrow. The higher ups want us to go over our funding needs and what not for our southern voyage."

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Dr. Salvatore. I do appreciate it."

"I didn't give it to you, you earned it. It wasn't just your pretty face, I thought you were a man when I picked you," I laugh, shaking my head.

"Yeah," she says, rolling her eyes. I stand up and walk her to the door.

"Have a nice evening, Elena."

"You too. Bye now." As she walks away, I can't seem to take my eyes off of her. There is something about her plus those endless brown eyes of hers suck me right in. I don't turn my eyes away till she pulls the outside door closed behind her.

Shaking my head, I walk back to my desk, plopping down in the seat. Stretching my arms out on the desk in front of me, I drop my head down and close my eyes, realizing that this girl has the potential to turn my life upside down.

* * *

"Can you stay a little longer?" the girl I went home with last night asks, eyeing me flirtatiously. I don't even know her name. Ric, Brady and I went out for a few beers. I didn't have anything better to do last evening so I went home with her when she invited me. Although her mouth dropped when she saw my prosthesis, she didn't ask about it. It's kind of a turn off for some girls, other's don't seem to mind as long as my other part performs. For whatever reason, I did feel a little guilty when Elena eyed me when I was leaving with 'what's her name'. I was surprised to see her there especially when she was accompanied by Elijah Mikaelson. He's a stand up guy but his brother is a disgrace to our profession.

Nick and I went to college together. We were never as close as Ric, Brady and I were but we were or at least I thought we were friends. That is until I did a research paper, which accounted for a big share of the credits I needed, turned up missing. He stole it and turned it in, claiming it was his own. Fortunately, I kept a record on my computer which was dated so I was able to prove it was my work, both by date as well as word and grammar usage. He and I have been pretty much bitter opponents since then.

Turning to face the girl, I shake my head. "I can't. I really need to get to work," I reply as I'm strapping my leg back on.

"Maybe we can do it again sometime?" she asks, raising her eyebrows seductively.

"Um.. what's your name?" she adds.

"David," I reply just as I finish tying my other shoe. Walking over to her, I somehow hold back an eye roll.

"Goodbye now," I add then walk out the door without looking back. I hightail it out of there as fast as my legs will carry me.

* * *

"Good morning everybody," I greet them as I step onto our boat. "Elena," I add.

"Morning buddy," Brady replies as he's raising the anchor.

"Where we headed to today?" Ric asks.

"I thought we could show Elena around. Have you ever been out this way before?" I ask, turning my attention to her.

"No, I've never been near the Farallon's."

"You're in for a treat. They're beautiful. We're going to go right by the sea lion and elephant seal rookeries. We may even see a couple of White sharks," I tell her with a wink.

"Have you ever gone to South Africa or the Great Barrier Reef to view them?" she asks.

"We did go to South Africa. I was actually more interested in viewing a Coelacanth at that time though. Are you familiar with them?"

"No. I don't remember that name being brought up in any of my classes. What are they?"

"It's a primitive-looking fish, thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs sixty five million years ago. Its discovery in 1938 by a South African museum curator on a local fishing trawler fascinated the world and ignited a debate about how this bizarre looking lobe-finned fish fit into the evolution of land animals. There are only two known species of the Coelacanth. One lives near the Comoros, a group of islands off the east coast of Africa. The other is found in the waters off Sulawesi, Indonesia. Many believe the uniqueness of the fish represent an early step in the evolution of fish to terrestrial four-legged animals like amphibians," I explain to her.

I smile when I see how enthralled she is. "The thing is Elena, the most striking feature of this 'living fossil' is its paired lobe fins that extend away from its body like legs and move in an alternating pattern much like a trotting horse. And that's not all. Another of its unique characteristics is a hinged joint in the skull which allows the fish to widen its mouth for large prey. It also has a notochord which is an oil filled tube which serves as its backbone. It's thick scales are common only to extinct fish," I add.

"The Coelacanth also has an electrosensory rostral organ deep in its snot which is likely used to detect prey. They are very elusive, deep sea creatures, living in depths of up to twenty three hundred feet below the surface." Pausing a moment, I glance around to see Ric and Brady listening in as well.

"They can be huge, reaching up to six and half feet or more and weighing two hundred pounds. Scientists estimate they can live up to sixty years or even more. Their population numbers aren't well known because they are so elusive. Studies in the Comoros suggest that maybe only a thousand remain there. They are an endangered species."

"Wow. I never heard of them before. I'll have a research paper to do after I get back to school. I think you just provided me with a subject," Elena mentions.

"Glad I could be of service," I reply, with a wink. "Are we ready to shove off?" I ask just as Matt steps onto the boat.

"Aye captain," Ric teases, mock saluting me. Just then the engine sparks to life and we head for the open ocean.

* * *

After a day out on the boats, we're exhausted and sunburned by the time we get back. Elena is nodding off in her seat. She's so beautiful. Realizing that I can't think like that, I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath. She surprised me today as she really seemed pretty fearless out here. Of course, we didn't see any dorsal fins breaking the water either. This day may have been different if we had. We maneuvered the boat as close to the shore as we could so she was able to view the seals and sea lions up close. Using her camera, she snapped photo after photo. I couldn't help but smile as I did the same thing the first time I came here.

"You like her," Matt observes, jabbing me in the ribs with his elbow.

Turning my eyes skyward for a moment, I expel a puff of air then look at Matt's eyes again, "I do but I'm supposed to be her mentor. That's a fine line, Matt."

He grabs me by the shoulders, tilting his head ever so slightly. "If you like this girl, let the chips fall where they may." When I smile tightly, he nods, letting me go before walking towards the bow of the boat. Once I shake off my lust, I walk over and stoop down in front of her.

"Elena, we're back at the dock. Swe..., I need you to wake up," I whisper softly as I place a hand on her knee. Again I feel the electricity crackle through my body when I touch her soft skin.

"Wha...what?" she asks, opening her eyes.

"We're at the marina. Come, I'll give you a ride home," I offer, extending my hand to hers.

Covering her mouth she yawns deeply then takes my hand. At the same time, she latches onto my hand, her eyes widen. It's like she feels it too. Smiling widely at her, I turn to Ric and Brady.

"Do you guys need any help? If not, I'm going to take Elena home. She's dead on her feet," I tell them, leading her towards the ramp so we can disembark.

"No, go ahead. We need to keep our intern in good health," Brady teases. "Goodbye, Elena," he adds then resumes dropping the anchor.

"Where do you live?" I ask when we reach my car.

"Um, I rented an apartment. It has a six month lease. I know I won't be here that long but it's the shortest they offered."

"Where is it?"

"The 'Marina' apartments. Do you know where they are?" she asks, buckling her seat belt.

"Actually, my apartment complex is across the street from them. We're neighbors, miss Gilbert," I tease. After turning on the ignition, I put my blinker on and pull out onto the highway. I glance over at for a moment then turn my eyes back to the road. Traffic is usually heavy this time of the afternoon.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

She looks at me curiously for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders. "I suppose not."

"I saw you with Elijah Mikaelson at the bar last night. How do you know him?" Turning away, she stares out of the window.

"Um..., we share an acquaintance," she replies, biting on her lower lip.

"How do you know him?" she asks, turning to look at me.

"I went to school with his brother, Nick. I thought we were friends. He tried to pass off some of my work as his own. That led to a falling out and now we're rivals," I tell her truthfully.

"Oh. Do you know Elijah?" she asks.

"Yep. I met him through Nick. He seems like a nice enough guy but I don't know that much about him other than that he's filthy rich."

"He is. He's been a good friend to me. But I really don't want to go into that."

"No worries," I tell her. "I'll walk you home."

"No need," she tells me, grabbing her bag.

"Yes, need," I tease. "But seriously, Elena, I won't have anything happen to you. This is a pretty safe neighborhood but it's not crime free either."

Smiling, she nods. "Okay," she concedes then we start walking to the crosswalk. Once we get the go signal, we walk side by side across the street. When we get to her door, she reaches into her bag to get her key then places it in the lock.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Are you sure you're not too tired?"

"I'm sure. I have some lemonade in the fridge. Do you want a glass?" she asks once we step inside.

"That sounds nice."

"Have a seat, I'll be right back." I watch her walk into the kitchen before dropping onto her sofa.

When she comes back, she hands me a glass before taking a seat beside me on her couch.

"So Dr. Salvatore, I had a good time today. The sea lions are beautiful. The elephant seals are massive. Do you ever see any sea otters? They're the cutest things ever," she gushes.

"Please call me Damon. I don't want things to be so formal between us," I tell her, taking a sip of my drink.

"So what's on the agenda for tomorrow, Damon?"

"I'm going to take you to see some sharks," I tell her, raising my eyebrows.

"O..okay. Do you jump into the water with them?" she asks, her eyes looking a little fearful.

"Hey, it's okay, Elena. Yes, I've gone in the shark cage many a time. I'm not going to force you to go into the shark cage. You'll let me know when you're ready though?" I ask, tilting my head just slightly.

"I will and thank you for letting me decide," she says, turning away and taking another sip of her drink.

"You're welcome." Setting my glass down, I stand up but stumble when my prosthetic foot catches the leg on her end table.

"Are you okay?" she asks, reaching out to help me catch myself.

"Yeah, just embarrassed," I confess. "I'll let you get some rest now. I know you're tired. We have to be at the boat first thing in the morning," I tell her walking towards her door.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Elena," I tell her softly, allowing myself one last glance at the beauty in front of me.

She sucks her lower lip into her mouth just before saying goodbye. If only she knew what that simple act did to my libido.. Shaking it off, I walk away, turning around after I step into the elevator. When our eyes meet, it's like we're the only two people in the universe. The spell continues, only to be broken by the closing of the elevator door.

* * *

 _Thank you so much Eva. I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. I'm glad you're taking an interest in this story. At one time in my life I thought about marine biology as a career too but the call to be an RN was stronger._

 _I remember 100 years ago when I was in grade school reading a book called 'The Living Fossil'. It was about the Coelacanth. I think they're fascinating._

 _I updated 'What If I Was Nothing' yesterday and 'Shatter Me' a few moments ago. I hope you'll give those a read._

 _As always, stay safe and have a lovely weekend. I'm going to try to answer some reviews later today. I'm just about to start chapter 12 of the story I'm working on right now. Until next time and please remember to click that review button. Thank you all._


	4. Wild Child

"Hello Walter," I greet Dr. Mordechai when the lot of us step inside the conference room. Once we all take a seat, he turns, motioning for me to begin.

"As you know, we have a voyage planned to go down to the Baja Peninsula and Guadalupe Island. We want to tag some sharks, hopefully some baby white sharks so we can gather data. We'll be able to track their travels. Can you imagine how much we could learn from that?" I ask, laying it all out for him.

"From past summers, we know that there are some uncharted islands out there. I really would like to venture around them. I'd like to view the shark populations in those areas too."

"How is that 'secret project' of yours going, Damon?"

"That's part of what I hope to investigate along the one island," I tell him matter of factly.

"When we found it the year before last, we couldn't really take the time to do any research. The weather was horrible. The waves were crashing, nearly sinking us," I explain, raking my hand through my hair.

"Before the weather and everything else went to hell, we were in the cage. We actually saw two 'Frilled sharks'. It's really a rare species. What I'd like to discern is whether or not the island is a habitat for them and if so how would we go about turning it into a sanctuary or preserve?"

"I knew about the 'Frilled sharks'. I saw the photos but why do you think this could be a breeding ground for them?"

"I really don't know how to answer that, Walter. We saw a couple of them which is so rare in and of itself. I just have a gut feeling," I admit, looking him in the eye.

"That's why we need to spend some time there so we can distinguish if it was just bum luck that we saw them or if there's more to it."

"Walter, I know this trip won't be inexpensive but it's really a worthwhile cause, don't you think?" Matt asks, tenting his fingers on the table top.

"I agree, it'll be quite the scientific find if you've found a breeding ground for these rare sharks. Are you going to try to actually set foot on the island to see the flora and fawna for yourselves?" he asks, studying me intently.

"If we can find a way in by boat, yes. The rocks were craggy and jagged. The ocean was taking no prisoners that day so I don't know about beach access or if we'll need to go in by helicopter," I tell him honestly.

"I don't want you to take any chances with your lives," he begins. Lifting his hand up, he gestures for me to let him finish. "I am well aware of the fact that there are risks every time you go into the ocean. However, I don't want to read your obituaries in the newspaper should your boat be shattered to smithereens from being tossed onto the rocks. Do you understand?"

"Absolutely Walter. I wouldn't risk my team's lives anymore than I'd risk my own or Matt's. They're family, you know?"

"I know Damon. I'll speak to the board to see if we can get the funding you need. I'll also talk to my buddy in D.C. about how one would go about having a piece of land declared a preserve or a sanctuary. I do realize it's too early to do anything about your island but it won't hurt to get our ducks in a row if you know what I mean?" he asks.

Standing up, I offer my hand, thanking him. Shaking it vigorously, a wide smile on my face, I gush, "Thank you, Walter. You won't be disappointed." After saying our goodbyes, the guys and I stop at a McDonald's on the way back to the office to celebrate our successful meeting. Hopefully the board of directors will want to get on board with this project as well. Picking up my glass of soda, I raise it in toast to my crew.

With a hint of shiver running up my spine, I tap my cup gently with the other guys, uttering, "Here's to luck."

* * *

Stepping into Matt's office, I drop into a chair in front of his desk. "Hey."

"What's shaking, brother?" he asks.

"I just talked to gramps. I don't know Matt, he just sounded so old, if that makes any sense?"

Looking at me pointedly, "He is in his eighties, Damon. His health has been failing since he had that heart attack a couple of years ago."

"I know. Maybe we should fly home to see him. We haven't seen him since he was in the hospital."

"I actually think that's probably a wise idea. We'll regret it if something were to happen and we hadn't seen him for two years."

Nodding, I look down at my hands for a moment before looking at Matt again. "The first time I saw a real live shark, I was out on one of his boats with him. It was a bull shark but I was completely enthralled. After my leg, mom and dad hovered but it was gramps who encouraged me to get back on the horse as it were," I tell him, reminiscing winsomely.

"He's a great man. I shudder when I remember that day, Damon. You nearly died right there on the beach. Then you were in a coma for a few days. I don't know if you know this but they were worried about brain damage because you lost so much blood. As you're well aware, blood carries oxygen to your brain. We didn't know if you'd be the same Damon when you woke up," he explains, shaking his head.

 _I try to raise my hands to pull at whatever is in my throat but they won't move. I feel my heart begin to thunder against my ribcage as I struggle to free my arms. Suddenly alarms start blaring loudly. The sound is more grating than nails on a chalkboard. My eyelids are so heavy that no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to open them. Fighting as hard as I can at whatever is holding me down, I start to squirm, tangling the sheets at my waist. Somehow I'm finally able to move my legs but it hurts when I try to thrash them against the bed covers. Although it seems like hours, it's really only a few seconds before I feel hands pushing gently against my chest, telling me to calm down. When I finally hear my dad's voice, I quit fighting._

 _"Damon, calm down son. You're in the hospital. It's going to be okay. I promise it will be," he tells me, pressing his palm to my cheek._

 _"Your nurse is calling the Dr. right now. He'll take that tube out of your throat. Just then I squeeze my eyes shut when I feel fingers probing around them._

 _"Damon, I'm Lisa, your nurse. I'm just taking the tape off of your eyes. Your dad is right here with you." After she explains what she's doing, I try to relax long enough for her to finish on my eyes. It's so bright when I open them that I have to blink repeatedly till they adjust. I see my dad standing right beside me, holding my right hand._

 _Once she finishes, she embraces my left hand. "As soon as Dr. Fell takes the breathing tube out, we'll let your hands loose, okay?"_

 _I look up when I hear a new voice. "Damon, I'm Dr. Fell. I'm just going to take that tube out for you now." I start gagging as soon as it's out so the nurse thrusts a basin to catch my vomit. Still feeling frightened, I look to my dad for a moment to tell him that my left leg hurts. When he asks me where, I look down at my legs but I only see my right foot tenting the covers. Panic building, I reach under the covers only to find my leg gone. I start hyperventilating. "Where's my leg, dad?" I blurt out my through the tears that are now falling down my cheeks._

"I don't remember much about that Matt except for when I woke up to discover that I only had one leg," I tell him, my voice trailing as I'm lost in thought.

"Hey," he says, grabbing my forearm. "You survived and prospered little brother and I couldn't be more proud of you."

"Thanks Matt. You don't know how much that means to me," I tell him, placing my other hand on top of his, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Now that we got the mushy stuff out of the way," he laughs, "how about we go home for your birthday instead of having mom and dad come here? Then we can spend some time with gramps."

"That's a fabulous idea Matt. Plus we already got the okay for us to take that week off when they were supposed to be here. Do you want to call mom and dad or should I?"

"I'll call them. Where is Elena today?"

"She's in my office looking over some our policies. Plus she's looking over my research. I suppose I should get back to her."

"Alright, I'll call them then I'll ask Caroline to book us a flight, does that sound okay to you?"

"Yeah it does. And thanks Matt," I tell him sincerely as I get up and walk out of his office.

* * *

"Are you learning anything?" I ask when I walk back into my office to see how she's doing.

"I made some notes. This island we're going to try to get to, you're looking for the 'Frilled' shark?"

"Yes, it's quite rare. They usually live in water almost five thousand feet deep but in Japan can be found in more shallow waters, one hundred and sixty to maybe seven hundred feet deep. The frilled shark is also called prehistoric or a living fossil if you will because that's its appearance," I explain.

"Its eel-like body shape with the dorsal, pelvic and anal fins, give this shark the look of an extinct species. The fact that this shark seems to not have evolved in five hundred million years says much about the 'perfection' of this shark. The frilled shark can reach a length of thirteen feet and has very long and flexible jaws that allow it to feed on large prey such as the Pacific octopus and other sharks."

"Sounds scary," she says, smiling.

"Indeed. It has twenty five rows of teeth totaling about three hundred. By comparison, the great white shark has fifty teeth. You can go to a search engine, type in frilled shark and click image. You'll see that they do indeed look prehistoric. One was caught off the coast of Australia in January in about twenty three hundred feet of water. They're usually deeper so this fisherman was very fortunate to have caught one of these," I finish.

"Eeep," she squeaks with a shiver. I can't help but laugh.

"You see, Elena. The great white shark is where my heart lies but if the island is a breeding place for these rare sharks, don't you think it should be kept pristine?"

Nodding, she bites on her lip, like she's searching for the right word to say whatever it is she's contemplating. Thank goodness I'm sitting behind my desk and she can't see me hardening. She has no clue what that maneuver does to me. Feeling an unexpected shiver surge straight to my dick, I reach down to reposition myself just slightly. I need to get laid tonight, I think to myself.

"What is it, Elena?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"Nothing. As much as I dislike sharks, I do think your island should be kept safe from fishing boats if it's what you believe it to be."

Happy that she's interested despite her obvious fear, I give her a smile and an appreciative nod. "Listen, Matt, Caroline and I are going to fly back to North Caroline in a couple of weeks to see our grandfather. His health is failing and it's already been a couple of years since we've seen him. I have a couple of options for you. You can either have that week off or you can spend it here with Brady and Ric. They'll take good care of you while I'm gone."

"I think I'll just stay here with those two. I would imagine they'd have some stories to tell," she giggles, raising her eyebrows at me.

"That they do...," I whisper, staring into those endless pools that masquerade as her eyes.

"Damon?" she asks, snapping her fingers.

"Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts for a moment. It's almost five o'clock, time to call it a day. I'll see you tomorrow, Elena."

Standing up, she walks to the door before turning around, staring at me the same way I was just staring at her. "Bye," she says softly, once more pulling that lower lip between her teeth. It takes everything in me not to stalk after her, pull her into my arms and kiss her like there's no tomorrow.

"Bye," I finally answer, watching as she pulls the door closed behind her.

* * *

"Nick, fancy meeting you here," I tease, slapping him on the back. After giving a wink to Jules, I lean in, whispering in her ear, "Why don't you ditch this clown and come home with me tonight?"

Pretending to look aghast, she gives me a shove. "Don't you even go there Damon. You have nothing on my Nick."

With her outburst, Nick gives me the old 'if looks could kill stare'. "Damon, if you so much as whisper to my girlfriend again, I'll make short work of you. Do you understand?" he asks, his voice full of malice.

"Big bad Nick has to show that he has a set sometimes," I chortle, looking at my friends. Suddenly his hand is twisted in my shirt pulling us nose to nose. I still can't stop the laugh that erupts from my mouth.

"Boo," I blurt out, trying to contain my laugh.

"Um Nick, your face is a bright shade of red. Are you sick?" I goad him again. Not taking anymore of my bullshit, he shoves me backwards. Thankfully Rick is there to catch me.

"He makes it too easy," I snigger, grabbing onto Ric's arms.

"Come on, Damon. I think you've had enough to drink tonight. What's with you, you're not one to over indulge shall we say?"

"I need to get laid buddy," I smirk.

"Yeah, I think you need to get laid out in bed all right. Let's get you home."

"Killjoy," I utter, following him back to our table. He grabs me a big bottle of water, practically forcing it down my throat. Just as I decide I'm indeed ready to go home, I spot Anna Beth at the bar.

"Anna Beth," I yelp, getting up and walking over to her.

"Damon?"

Pressing my lips to her ear, I ask her if she wants to take me home with her. I don't usually take girls back to my own apartment preferring to keep my place of residence a 'state secret'.

"Despite the leg, you are pretty good with that other piece of your anatomy," she teases, raising her eyebrows flirtatiously.

Staring at her for a moment, I look down at my neglected appendage, hiding behind its denim prison. Frowning when I don't even feel a twitch, I pout sadly. Maybe because I've had a little too much to drink. I'm not one to over imbibe but for some reason, I just couldn't help myself tonight. Shaking off my stupor, I ask, smirking suggestively, "You ready?"

"I am." I step back and gesture for her to go first. Just as we reach the door, I'm taken aback when I nearly bump into Elena.

"Damon, hi," she says, surprise evident on her face.

"Elena," I say softly, unable to take my eyes off of her beautiful face. She's exquisite in her blue skinny jeans and white tee shirt with those candyapple red Louboutins on her feet. I want her so badly but I don't know if I dare cross that line. I'm supposed to be her mentor, her guide. I don't want to disillusion her or make her feel uncomfortable if I tell her what she does to my insides whenever I'm with her. Thinking to myself, I close my eyes for a just a second. For all I know, she could have a boyfriend?

My reverie is broken when Anna Beth comes back in. "I'm waiting Damon," she says loudly, seemingly to flaunt herself in front of Elena. She'd have to be blind not to see how entranced I am with Elena.

"Um sure, Anna Beth. I'll see you tomorrow, Elena."

"Yeah," she replies, giving me a long look before turning away and walking towards the girl she walked in with. Unable to turn away, I watch, mouth agape as she sashays away from me.

"Could you be any more obvious, Damon?" Anna Beth sneers, giving me a shove on the arm. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," I utter, finally turning away and following her out the door.

* * *

I'm startled awake by the clamoring of my alarm clock. Reaching over, I turn it off before falling back down onto my pillow. Last night sure didn't go as planned. When I called her Elena, she went ballistic nearly fracturing my dick in the process. Although I can hardly blame her, I got dressed and came home after she told me never to darken her doorstep again. I tried apologizing but she wouldn't hear it. I finally got home, falling into bed around midnight.

Glancing over at the clock, I drag myself out of bed. Walking into the kitchen, I switch on my coffee pot then head back to jump into the shower. My mind drifts once again to Elena. I don't even know if she realizes how utterly gorgeous she really is. As my mind imagines doing all sorts of wonderful things to that delicious body of hers, I unconsciously grab ahold, stroking myself erect. Pressing my palm and my head against the shower wall for balance, I continue to fondle myself, squeezing and tugging till I come with the cry of her name on my lips.

* * *

 _Damon is feeling it... Thank you Eva. She and I are hard at work on our current story. And thank you, all of you for the great reception to this story so far. I'm so happy you all seem to like it. I don't think I've ever read a story with Damon as a shark biologist before. I just love sharks so I wanted to give them a supporting role in a DE story._

 _I did update 'Shatter Me' yesterday. 'What if I Was Nothing' will be updating today too. Please give them a look._

 _I hope you all have a safe and lovely weekend. I'll see you next week. As always, REVIEWS ARE LOVE***_


	5. You're My Best Friend

"There they are," I say excitedly, pointing out mom and dad to Matt and Caroline.

"Is Stef with them?" Matt asks, his arm around Caroline's shoulder as we make our way towards the luggage carousel to pick up our baggage.

"I don't see him," I reply, taking a hold of Caroline's other hand. Once we reach the luggage claim, mom wraps her arms around me first and then Matt. Since I nearly died that day, my dad has become a hugger too when he sees me rather than greeting me with a handshake. It doesn't bother me in the least.

"It's good to see you all," Mom says, pulling Caroline into a hug after letting go of Matt.

"It actually feels pretty good to be home," I reply, grabbing a couple of our bags off of the carousel.

"How's papa?" I ask, concerned.

"He's very anxious to see both of you boys. I too am worried about him," dad says, shaking his head.

"He is eighty six years old. Grandma's death a couple of years ago hit him hard."

"I'm really glad we decided to come home. I want to spend some time with him, all of us do," I tell my dad just as the last of our bags finally appears. Once we have everything collected, we start walking, stopping only when we get to the parking lot. Fortunately mom and dad's Expedition is big enough for all of us to ride in.

"Before we leave, do we need to rent a car?" I ask Matt.

"No, of course not. You can use mine," mom chimes in.

"Mom, is Stefan coming home?" Matt asks.

"Yes, he and Katherine are coming the day after tomorrow. He can't get here any sooner than that. He couldn't get anyone to take call for him at the hospital.

"He's still with Katherine?"

"Well yes. They have news," Mom says cryptically.

"Don't tell me he knocked her up," I utter, rolling my eyes.

"Damon! Don't you dare talk like that to your brother. He'll cold cock you," she scolds.

"So she is pregnant?"

"Yes, but he wanted it to be a surprise so you better put on your acting hat..," she warns.

Attempting to placate her, I add, "Yeah, I'll act surprised if that's what you want."

"You should also know that he and Katherine are married," Dad announces, looking over his shoulder first at Matt and then at me.

"They eloped? That's so romantic," Caroline sighs, laying her head on Matt's shoulder.

"Because of the baby?" I ask, feeling a bit slighted that the three of us weren't invited to their wedding.

"Well, the baby was at the wedding but they didn't know about it yet," mom replies, raising her eyebrow at me through the rearview mirror.

"And besides," she continues, "They didn't want to wait till you three could tear yourselves away from work for more than ten minutes."

"That's not fair, mom," I protest.

"We're extremely busy this time of the year. I have a new intern to train, plus we're taking the boat down to the Baja Peninsula and Guadalupe Island next month. We're hoping to tag some of the female white sharks."

"Damon's right. You knew we had a week off. Why didn't you suggest we come home instead of waiting till I thought of it? And why didn't they at least tell us about it?" Matt asks, looking a bit disgruntled himself.

"We found out you were coming home not long after their big day. They decided they'd wait till you got here to tell you all."

"So why did you tell us then?" I ask, raising my own eyebrow at her. I know she saw it because she gave me a look.

"So you'll behave when they spring it on you," dad says, giving me a wink. Without saying anything in reply, I exhale heavily then turn to look out the window to watch the scenery go by.

* * *

"Hello?" I hear her ask when she finally answers her phone.

"Hi Elena! I just called to check in and to see if my buddies are minding their manners with you?" I tease.

"Hi Damon. Yes, Ric and Brady are being really helpful. They showed me around the some of the nooks and crannies in this building. And they took me out on the ocean yesterday. It was wonderful, the sea otters are so adorable. I want one," she laughs.

"Did they introduce you to Jack and Rose?"

"Yeah, they did. Who knew you were a romantic, Dr. Salvatore?"

"You're sadly mistaken Miss Gilbert. Brady's girlfriend named them. They have peculiar markings which afforded us the opportunity to name and recognize them.

"He told me that but he didn't mention his girlfriend. Although they asked me to go out with them Friday night. Jenna is coming too."

"She and Ric have had a thing for a couple of years now. I keep asking him when he's going to pop the question. Usually he just ignores me," I chuckle.

"Is someone calling for you? I thought I heard your name in the background?"

"Yeah, it's my grandpa. I have to go. I'll call again later this week. Give the guys my best."

"I will, bye, Damon," she says softly.

Closing my eyes at the tenderness of her voice, I reply softly, "bye now." When I hear the click, I turn off my own phone. Not wanting to let go of her voice just yet, I clutch my phone close to my chest for a few moments before finally putting it in my pocket. Inhaling sharply, I get up to go and greet my grandfather.

* * *

Walking over to stand in front of him, I raise my arms, giving him a big hug. "I missed you, papa," I tell him when I pull back.

"I missed you too, son. How are you?"

"I'm good. Matt and I, along with our guys are taking the a voyage down south to view the great whites. I'm excited for that. I wish you could see them, papa."

"If I was a few years younger, I'd take you up on that offer," he replies with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Are you okay papa, I'm worried about you?" I ask, tilting my head just slightly.

"You've got better things to do than to worry about your old grandpa," he says, eyeing me gently.

"I think about you all the time. You're the one who really helped me put that day behind me. If not for you, I might not be doing what I love today," I tell him honestly.

 _My stump is healed but the Dr. says we need to wait a little longer before they fit me with a fake leg. He told mom and dad that since it's still tender when I touch it, he wants to wait a little while yet to fit me with one. We've been at the beach since that day but this is the first time that I can actually go in the water if I want. My crutches aren't very stable in the sand so my dad carried me down to the shore._

 _"Come with me, Damon. We're going to go into the water a little ways," papa tells me._

 _"Papa, don't make me go in the water, I'm scared." He stoops down to my level, smiling gently._

 _"Dad, don't make him do this. He's afraid," my dad admonishes him. Papa turns to look at my dad._

 _"Bob, I know you want to protect him but he needs to do this. I'll help him."_

 _"Papa?"_

 _"I know you're scared. It's okay to be scared but you love the water. I don't want you to fear something you love for the rest of your life. You have every right to be afraid after what happened but don't let the fear win, Damon. I know you're just a little boy but you need to do this," he explains, tilting his head slightly._

 _"What do you say?"_

 _"O...okay, papa. Help me."_

 _"Of course," he says, helping me to stand up. He lifts me up, carrying me to the shoreline. Just before we step into the water, he gives me an understanding glance._

 _"Are you ready?" he asks. I stare at him then bob my head up and down. Smiling, he puts me down so I'm standing on my right leg. He takes my left hand in his and wraps his other arm around me, holding me up as I balance on one leg. We share another long stare broken only when I blink my eyes._

 _He stoops down to give me hug, whispering, "It's going to be okay, Damon." Although fearful, I nod in agreement. Once he stands up, he takes me in his arms, walking the two of us into the surf._

Shaking his head back and forth, he scoffs at me, "You would have. It might have taken a little longer but you'd still be doing what you love. I have no doubt of that."

"Thanks papa. Do you want to go out on the boat with me tomorrow?"

"Yes, Damon. I'd like that." As anxious as I am because I know he's not the buoyant man I remember, I still smile knowing that he'll go with me in the morning.

"Grandpa," Matt exclaims, walking into the living room. Just like me, he embraces papa too.

"You're looking good, gramps," he says, smiling.

"You look good yourself, Matt. Where's the lovely wife of yours?"

"She's with mom and dad. They should be home soon...," Just as he says that, we hear the front door open. Mom and Caroline walk in the living room to greet us. Caroline runs over and wraps her arms around papa's neck, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"How's my favorite grandpa?" she gushes, flirting with him. I can't help but chuckle when papa winks at her.

"When are you going to kiss that big oaf goodbye and come home with me?" he teases, giving Matt a gentle elbow in the ribs. Matt bursts out in laughter too.

"I don't stand a chance against you gramps," Matt plays along, wrapping his arm around him.

"Well boys, your old gramps is tired. I'm going to go home now. What time do you want me ready tomorrow morning, Damon?"

"I'll pick you up around eight thirty, nine. Is that okay?"

"I'll be ready," he tells me, giving my shoulder a squeeze before walking out of the door.

* * *

"Good morning papa," I greet him with a hug. Once we get into my car, I hand him the coffee and Danish I picked him up at the bakery, having remembered how much he loves the cherry cheese flavor.

"Good morning, Damon," he replies, reaching around to buckle his seat belt.

"I'm so glad you agreed to spend the day with me," I tell him as I turn on the ignition and pull out onto the road, driving us towards the marina.

"Of course, Damon," he says just as my cell starts ringing. Pushing it on speaker, I answer, "This is Dr. Salvatore."

"Um, Damon, this is Elena."

"Hi Elena. Say hello to my papa, Jake Salvatore," I urge, my voice light and happy.

"Hello," she says a little hesitantly.

"Well hello young lady," he answers, giving me a wink.

"How can I help you Elena?"

"I was wondering if I could read over your folders on that island project?" she asks, her voice a bit timid.

"Yes, but make sure you lock them back in the file cabinet when you're done. Ric has a key," I tell her.

"Oh, I will. I just wanted to read what you've learned so far," she continues.

"No problem. We will be going there once Matt and I get back. You doing alright?" I ask, genuinely interested.

"Yeah, we're all fine here. I'll let you get back to your grandpa. It was nice saying hi to you, Mr. Salvatore?"

"You too, young lady. Have a wonderful day. Bye now," papa says to her.

"Bye, Damon."

"Goodbye Elena," I say wistfully at the same time I hear her end the call.

* * *

Dropping the keys in his hand, I tell papa to start the boat while I pull up the anchor. I have it raised and stowed at almost the same time I hear the engine roar to life. I smile as he steers the boat out of the marina and into the open ocean.

"I was up early so I could get our fishing gear ready. You up for casting out a line once we find a good spot to anchor the boat?"

"I am. I'm glad you thought of that."

"How could I not? You're the one who taught me how to cast out a line. I think I was six or so, remember?"

 _"But papa, I can't do it," I pout, feeling a few tears prick at my eyes._

 _"Yes, you can. Just watch me and then I'll help you okay?"_

 _"Okay, papa," I sputter, turning away for a moment to discreetly wipe my eyes with my fists._

 _"Look this way, Damon," he tells me as he rears back and casts the line out into the open ocean. Smiling at me, he hands me the rod and reel before stooping down and helping me get into position to throw out the line. He puts his finger over mine on the button, helps me pull my arm back and we swing our arms out, casting out the line._

 _"Papa, we did it!" I squeal. Dropping the rod, I wrap my arms around his neck hugging as tightly as I can._

"That was a good day," he says with the hint of a smile. Once I get our chairs set up on the deck, I hand papa his rod and reel then put some bait on my own and cast it out. I get up to get each of us a cold bottle of water then sit down, turning my chair to face him.

Placing my hands on his shoulders, I stare at him for a long moment. "Really papa, are you okay?"

"Damon, I'm an old man. I'm not as spry as I used to be. I do miss your grandmother terribly."

"Is there anything I can do? Would you like to come back to the city with Matt and me?"

"No Damon. I like it here. But thank you for the offer. And I don't want to talk about me anymore. Who's that young lady that you talked to?" he asks.

"That's Elena. She's my summer intern," I tell him, raising my eyes to look at the clear blue sky.

"Do you like her?"

"I like her a lot papa. I really want to take her out and get to know her better. She just turns me inside out when I'm with her. But I'm supposed to be her mentor and her guide for this summer and I don't know if I dare cross that line. I feel so many things when I'm with her papa, butterflies, sweaty palms the whole nine yards," I explain, running my hand up and down the top edge of my prosthetic leg.

"I just don't know what to do. Do I ask her out? Do I tell her how I feel? Hell, I'm six years older than she is, I just...I've never felt so discombobulated by a woman before.." I utter in frustration.

Reaching over, he gives my right knee a squeeze. "Is she pretty?"

"She's beautiful, papa."

"Your grandmother was four years older than me. It didn't bother me any. Damon, don't let this girl slip away from you if she's this special to you. I think you should tell her how you feel. You never know when fate steps in and rips that chance away from you. It is your decision to make but ponder it carefully," he tells me wisely.

"Thanks papa," I reply. Just as I start to look away, I see his fishing line jiggle.

"Papa, I think you have something. Reel it in."

"Well would you look at that," he says with a smile when he pulls in a big Grouper.

"Wow, papa. We'll have some good eating tonight."

"I think we'll need to catch more than one. We have a pretty big family," he teases.

"Thanks for coming with me today. And papa, I...," I lose my train of thought for a moment when my eyes glance down to my fake leg.

"If it wasn't for you, I don't know when or even if I would've gone back in the ocean after it...," I begin, closing my eyes tightly for a few seconds.

"I just want you to know how very grateful I am for everything you've done for me. I love you so much papa," I tell him, turning my eyes to his.

"I love you too," he says, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. After a long few seconds, he lets go.

"Now enough of this mushy stuff, let's catch some fish," he says, giving me a wink.

"Aye, aye, captain," I tell him, baiting his hook so he can cast it out again. I sit back in my chair, put my legs up, close my eyes and imagine being here with a certain blazing brown-eyed girl.

* * *

 _I love Damon's grandpa! Thank you Eva. Love you. I'm so thrilled about the reception to this story. I can't even begin to thank you all. I'm so happy you all like sharks.. They're fascinating creatures.._

 _My friend Morvamp co-wrote a story with 'EldestSalvatore' called, 'Who Says You Can't Go Home'. It's a very moving one shot. Tell her I sent you and give it a read. You won't regret it. 'EldestSalvatore' is listed as the author. You can find it by searching the author or story name._

 _My friend Charlotte's story, 'Scars Beneath the Surface' is complete. It's a really good read too._

 _I have updated 'Shatter Me' and 'What if I Was Nothing' will follow shortly. Please give those a look._

 _And again I thank you so much for your support not just with this but with all of my stories. It's your enthusiasm that keeps me writing. I'm just not ready to say goodbye to DE yet._

 _I hope you all have a safe and wonderful day. *REVIEWS ARE LOVE* Until next time..._


	6. Hunger

Before we know it, our week is up. We're at the airport saying goodbye to our parents and our grandpa. We said our goodbyes to Stefan and Katherine yesterday because he needed to get back to Durham. Since Stefan became a doctor, working as an emergency room physician at UNC, he has a bit of an attitude. As such, things got a bit tense at times between the three of us. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother dearly but..

Matt and I both tried to brush it off but sometimes his arrogance is hard to take. Even though it was teeth gnashing hard, we both bit our tongues for mom and dad's sake. They didn't need to see us going at it at our ages.

After hugging my mom and dad, I turn to my papa. Pulling him into my arms, I give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to try to come home again at the end of the summer so we can spend a little more time together, okay?"

Pulling back slightly, he also gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"I'd like that a lot," he admits.

"You take care of yourself papa. I love you."

"I love you too, Damon. He leans forward, putting his lips against my ear.

"If you like that girl, do something about it," he says then pulls away.

"I'll do that, thanks Papa. I'll call you when I get back," I tell him, giving him one more hug before Matt interrupts telling us that we need to get to our gate.

"Maybe dad and I can come to visit when you get back from your southern voyage?"

"That would be great mom," Matt tells her, pressing one more kiss to her cheek. "We really need to go."

"I love you all," I half yell as Matt and Caroline each take an arm to pull me away.

* * *

"So Elena, are you ready to go into the water today?" I ask.

"Umm.. uh.. I'll decide when we get out there," she replies, obviously squeamish.

"You don't have anything to be afraid of. I won't force you to go into the shark cage with me though."

"I know that," she replies softly, looking away.

Nodding at her, I walk over to Matt who's guiding our boat out of the harbor towards the Farallon Islands.

"She seems a bit nervous," Matt observes.

"Yeah, she's not a shark fan from what she's told me although I don't know if there's a reason for that or if it's just that she doesn't like them?"

"I heard you say you won't force her to go into the cage. Wise decision, little brother," he says, turning to look at me.

"You know I'd never force anyone. You were there that day papa made me go back into the water the first time. He didn't force me but he did firmly prod," I reply, shaking my head back and forth at the fond remembrance of that day.

"I do remember because dad didn't want you to go in and gramps just took you by the arm and carried you into the water. That was a good day," he says, giving my shoulder a squeeze. I put my hand over his and squeeze back.

"Thanks Matt."

"You're welcome. Does she know about your leg?"

"Not that I know of. She hasn't said anything. So unless Ric or Brady mentioned it, she doesn't. So, here goes nothing," I utter as I go below deck to put my wet suit and swim leg on. Elena has her back facing me as she stares out over the ocean as the waves lap over the sides, getting the deck wet. She's wearing denim shorts and a tank top and she's perfect. Since I really can't walk with the swim leg and given the fact that I don't want to slip and fall if I try to hop, I ask for help.

"Ric, can you give me a hand?"

"Sure buddy," he replies, walking over to the stairs where I'm standing.

"Thanks, can you grab my swim leg for me too?" Nodding, he helps met get up the stairs. Normally I can grab hold of the railings, balancing on my good leg and get up the stairs but they're wet too from a couple of waves smashing into us. The sea is a little more calm now so I feel safe going into the shark cage.

"I can help," she says turning around when she hears my voice. A gasp escapes her lips when she sees my stump but I'm relieved when I see surprise and not disgust in her eyes. Some girls don't want anything to do with me when they see that a piece of me is missing. Walking towards Ric and me, she wraps my other arm around her shoulder. Together the three of us get over to the seating that lines the edges of the boat.

"I didn't know," she says, sitting next to me.

Taking in a deep breath, I look at her for a moment then turn my eyes skyward. "Some people aren't very nice, Elena. They see my disability and think that's what defines me," I explain, looking at her again.

"Do you mind if I ask you what happened?"

"No," I tell her, shaking my head. "Remember when I came to your class, someone asked me about my love for sharks?"

"Yes," she says, pushing a flyaway strand of hair behind her ears.

"I told him that I had an up close and personal encounter with a shark," I add, dropping my eyes from hers to my one foot. I smile tightly when I hear another gasp.

"A shark took your leg?"

"It was a bull shark when I was eight years old." I breathe a sigh of relief when she reaches over running her hand along the nearly faded incision.

"It was gruesome, Elena," Matt adds, stepping beside me, putting his hand on my shoulder. He nearly died that day, he lost over half of his blood volume. Fortunately, there was a doctor and nurse nearby. They kept him alive till the ambulance got there," he explains, giving my shoulder one more squeeze before walking off to talk to Ric and Brady.

"So your brother saw it?"

"He did and he's been a bit over protective ever since," I laugh, turning to look at him, grateful that he's always been there for me.

That must've been quite an adjustment for a little boy?"

"It was. My parents took me to a counselor. But it was my papa who got me back on the saddle as it were," I explain, never taking my eyes from hers.

"So you're really close to him?"

"Yep...," I start to say but am interrupted when the boat stops. I look over just in time to see Brady throw down the anchor. Once that's done, he helps Ric and Matt get the shark cage on the winch so it can be lowered into the water.

"Is anyone going down with you?" she asks, again gnawing on her lower lip. Although I try to stifle the shiver, I feel every time she does that, I'm sure she noticed. Shaking off her stare, I strap on my swim leg.

"I knew they made prosthetics for running but I never really gave swimming much thought," she muses, looking at me again.

"I actually have a running one too. I like to run but I don't get to do it as often as I'd like because of our busy schedules."

"We're ready, Damon," Matt announces, walking over to help me get into the shark cage. He lifts an oxygen tank to my back then slips one onto Brady. Although I think she's still undecided, Ric helps her with an oxygen tank too. I give her a wink before pulling the goggles on and sliding into the submerged cage. Brady follows after me. I'm curious to see if she'll come in too. Looking around, the water is fairly clear today. Suddenly, I see a shadow in the water, I grab onto Brady's arm, giving him a thumbs up when I see a Great White honing in on us. I hope Elena is okay up top, she might be afraid when she sees the dorsal fin breaking the water.

It always feels so surreal when I'm in the water with them. And it happens every time I catch a glimpse of their coal black eyes. A shudder runs down my spine when I remember the black eyes of the one that took my leg. Sometimes I wonder what on earth could have ever possessed me to do what I do?

Suddenly I'm surprised when she drops in between Brady and me. I offer her my hand. When she laces her fingers with mine, electric sparks ignite and crackle through every nerve pathway in my body. I close my eyes for just a couple of seconds hoping to get a grip, before opening them and pointing towards the shark as it's within a dozen feet now. She buries herself against my chest as it gets closer. It's so beautiful. Peaking up, she buries her head against me when the shark 'smiles' revealing his razor sharp pearly whites for the three of us to gawk at. Using one hand to hold onto the cage, I wrap my other one around her.

The shark circles in front of us a few times, even showing us her teeth again before swimming off into the murky distance. I release my arm from around her then point in an upward direction to indicate that we're going back on the boat now. She nods animatedly before swimming up top. I follow her and Brady picks up the rear. Matt pulls Elena into the boat. Ric helps me in but my swim leg catches on the cage's edge sending me sprawling spread eagle on the deck's timbers.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she asks, dropping to her knees beside me. Moaning, I raise up a little but I'm still in a daze so I drop my head against my forearm to close my eyes and let the dizziness pass. When I feel a hand squeeze my upper arm, I look up.

"You okay, little brother?" Matt asks, his eyes anxious. I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel a little dizzy.

"Matt, he may have a concussion, he zoned out a little here," she tells him and when I hear the concern in her voice, I heave a sigh of relief. When I hear Matt's voice again, I try to raise my head, but I still feel groggy, having hit the deck floor hard, knocking the wind out of me. Shaking my head, I try to raise myself up.

"Damon?" I hear Matt ask.

I roll over then and cover my eyes with my forearm. "I'm okay but my ankle hurts," I tell him, raising my arm to look at him.

When Brady tells me he's going to take off my swim fin, I lift my arm again to look at him and give him a nod. He gently lifts my leg, I wince, gnashing my teeth together when he carefully takes the swim fin off.

"Yep, your ankle is swollen and black and blue already, big guy. Gimpy is going to need to use his crutches," he teases, giving me a wink.

"Ha, ha, Brady," I can't help but laugh at my predicament.

"Let's get the cage on deck so we can get him to the emergency room," Matt adds.

"I don't need to go the ED. I've got Advil at home," I tell him when Ric and Brady help me up, carry me over to the seating lining the edge of the boat. Brady grabs a cushion from one of the deck chairs, propping it underneath my lower leg to help with the swelling.

"It could be more than a sprain, Damon," Ric points out.

"It's fine," I protest.

"Damon, he's right. You really should have it x rayed," she adds. Since everyone is ganging up on me, I agree to go to the emergency clinic that's in my neighborhood.

* * *

As it turns out, my ankle was just badly sprained. The Doctor wrapped my ankle, prescribed some pain medication for me and instructed me to stay off of it as much as I can. When you only have one leg to start with, that's kind of impossible. I'll have to use my crutches and keep my foot elevated as much as I can. I have to go back to see him next Tuesday. It being Friday night, I'm waiting for Matt and Ric to pick me up to go to our favorite watering hole. I've laid off my pain pills the last day or so knowing that we were going to go out tonight.

Elena has sort of hovered over me a little bit which I loved if I'm being honest with myself. That lasted until we went out to lunch one day. Unfortunately one of my old one night stands walked over to our table uninvited, practically throwing herself at me. I tried not to be catty, but the woman wouldn't quit till I finally told her to get lost. After that, Elena has been distant to me. I'm still iffy on whether or not I should just let it out that I want more with her or if I should just leave her well enough alone.

We're flying down to San Diego next week. From there, we'll take one of my companies vessels to begin the voyage to the Baja and Guadalupe Island and weather permitting, 'my' island. Grabbing my crutches, I stand up when I hear the doorbell ring.

"Hey guys," I greet them when I pull the door open. Matt grabs me when he sees me teetering on my crutches for a moment.

"What was that?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing, my fake foot got caught on the carpet. I'm fine." I reassure my big brother.

"You ready to go?"

"I am. Where's Caroline tonight?"

"She isn't feeling good, that time of the month and all," he chuckles.

"Ah, Matt not going to get any for a few days," Ric teases.

"Ric, don't go there. You've complained about Jenna enough times," I tell him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go," he says, rolling his eyes at both Matt and me. After I walk out of the door, Ric pulls it shut and locks it for me. Normally I would take the stairs but since I have to use crutches for a few more days, we get in the elevator, push the button and wait for the door to close.

* * *

"What happened, Damon?" Mark the bartender asks.

"Slipped on a wet boat deck," I tell him, shaking my head in embarrassment.

"What's your poison tonight?" he asks, using his bar towel to wipe off the counter in front of me.

"Can you have Callie bring a pitcher over to our table?" I ask, tilting my head in her direction.

"I thought she'd be on her honeymoon by now."

"She and Enzo had their honeymoon. He had a wedding he was booked to do so they took a short one and then they're going to take a longer one before the school crowd gets back to town," he explains.

"Thanks Mark," I tell him, putting my crutches to my arm pits so I can go back to our table.

"Hey Damon, what kind of beer do you want?" Mark asks.

"Whatever is on tap," I tell him, then hobble over to where Ric, Matt, Brady and Bonnie are sitting.

"Bonnie, hi," I greet her, bending over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Damon, it's good to see you."

"You going South with us?" I ask, turning a chair backwards and sitting down.

"Jenna and I are going to meet you in Cabo. I can't let this guy out of my sight for two long weeks," she guffaws, smirking at Brady before pressing a kiss to his lips.

After we've all had a couple of beers, I suddenly hear a familiar laugh. Looking around, my mouth drops when I see Elena laughing uproariously with some guy. They're sharing a table, he has his lips next to her ear, whispering something that's seemingly causing her to heave in amusement. My eyes are transfixed with the way her bosom rises and falls in response to her giggles. She cups her hand and whispers something back him. Her eyes drift from him when she raises her glass to her mouth. When our eyes meet, she has that deer in the headlights look. She smiles tersely then turns her attention back to the guy.

Having seen proof that she's indeed taken, I don't feel like partying anymore. Feigning leg pain, I grab my crutches and amble towards the exit. Just as I reach it, Ric grabs my upper arm.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asks.

Shaking my head, I tell him no that I'll walk since it's not far. After assuring him that I do indeed have my phone so I can call should I trip or need help, he lets me go, holding the door for me to get through. After giving Elena one last longing look, I walk through the door and begin my trek home. I get maybe half a block when I hear her calling my name.

"Damon?" she asks when she catches up to me.

"Why did you leave?"

"I'm tired tonight Elena." Without even thinking and under my breath, I spew out that I don't care to watch her cavorting with her boyfriend.

"What?" she asks, incredulously.

"What's what?" I utter, dropping my eyes.

"What did you just say about me?"

Rolling my eyes, I just spit it out, the tone of my voice rising as the words come out. "I don't care to watch you cavorting with your boyfriend. Do you hear me now?"

"Why do you even care? Every time I see you outside of the office, you have a new woman on your arm. You have no right to talk to me like that," she seethes.

After using my crutches to get close to her, I let them go when I'm in front of her.

"I have every right because you're driving me insane," I yell, pulling her into my arms and pressing my lips to hers in a kiss that sends shock waves throughout my body. She struggles against me for a second or two before opening her mouth, letting my tongue in to dance with hers. When I pull back, I look into her eyes and then back to her mouth before staring into her eyes once more. Tentatively this time, I lean forward capturing her lips once more.

"Do you have any idea of how long I wanted to do that?" I ask, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear with one hand while caressing her face with the other.

"Probably for as long as I've wanted you to kiss me," she admits, her cheeks turning a beautiful shade of pink.

"Um, I hate to bring him up, but do you need to go back to your boy...?"

"He's not my boyfriend, Damon. He's an old friend from my home town. He lives here too and we get together every now and then."

"Thank Christ..," I start to say, grimacing when I have to step on my bad ankle to keep from falling since I dropped my crutches. Noticing my discomfort, she bends down and picks them up. After handing them to me and waiting till I get them back under my arms, she cups my face with her hands and slams her lips into mine this time.

"Will you come home with me?" I ask, tilting my head, a grimacing smile on my lips, bracing myself for a big fat no. She starts laughing when she looks at my face.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"You look like you're about to walk up to the gallows," she teases.

Placing my lips next to her ear, I whisper, "I don't want you to say no." Then I step back and look into her eyes.

"I won't say no," she breathes. My smile widens from ear to ear when I hear those words. I'm so happy, I drop my crutches again, pulling her into my arms once more, stealing a heady kiss from her lips. Completely over the moon for this girl, I'm practically walking on the clouds as we walk side by side down the sidewalk anxious for what the night has in store for us.

* * *

 _Thank you Eva for everything. Without your guiding hand and brilliant mind there would be no stories. And I truly cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful reception to this story. I'm so glad you like it._

 _I have updated 'Shatter Me' and 'WIIWN'. Please give those a look and please remember to click that *REVIEW* button._

 _There is a beautiful youtube video by iForeverYooung 'Damon & Elena | Until my last breath. I've watched it innumerable times already._

 _Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend. Thank you all again. Until next time..._


	7. Hanging By A Moment

We walk casually back to my place. I can't really set any land speed records what with my crutches and all. I would've laced my fingers with hers if not for these damn things. After what seems like forever, we finally get to my door. Reaching into my pocket, I hand her my keys. Unlocking my door, she steps inside, holding it open so I can waddle over the threshold. Walking over to the couch, I lean my crutches against the corner table before plopping myself down onto it. Expelling a heavy breath, I drop my head back against the couch.

"You're tired?" she observes, dropping onto the couch beside me.

"I don't like having to use my crutches. My underarms get sore and irritated when I have to use them as much as I've had to in the last week." I explain.

"I would imagine you had to use them for a long time till your stump was healed well enough to be fitted for a prosthesis?"

"I most certainly did," I utter, dropping my eyes for a moment before repositioning myself to face her. This time it's me who bites on the lower lip. Releasing it, I lean forward to press a tentative kiss to her lips. Pulling back for a moment, I look into her endless brown eyes exploding in lust, I kiss her again only this time, I kiss her like it's my last moment on this earth. Our lips mold together perfectly as we both take what we want. Sliding her tongue in, I tease hers with mine till she pulls back, her chest heaving.

Carefully and gently, I lay her down on the couch while at the same time, I continue to pepper her lips, her neck and that spot behind her ears that makes most girls squirm with heady kisses. Her hands cup my face, pulling my lips to hers. While my lips are engaged, I reach down to fondle one of her breasts with my hand, using my thumb to stroke her raised nipple through her top and bra.

When she gasps, I smile and start to nuzzle her neck. Releasing her breast, I venture a little further south till I reach the button on her jeans, opening it with a flick of my wrist. After I lower the zipper, I lightly rub her flat tummy with my palm. As she starts the writhe, I close my eyes and push my hand under her panties. Using my middle finger, I start to stroke her clit gently at first and then with more vigor. Smiling widely when I hear a whimper, I drop my forehead onto her belly as my fingers move slowly down till I reach her entrance. Her dewy lady parts send a chill through me when I use one finger to enter her, stroking timidly at first and then more aggressively when her hips begin to ride it. Adding a second finger, I tease her front wall once, twice and then it happens. As her body lurches and shudders, I smile against her skin as my name escapes her lips when she comes.

"I can feel you," I whisper, in awe, as I help her ride it out. Once her body relaxes, I pull my fingers, staring at their moistness. The urge to taste her is much too strong so I put them to my lips. Although her chest is still heaving, she stares at me, her pupils fiery in their desire. I crawl back up, lifting another scorching kiss from her already kiss swollen lips before pulling back to brush a damp strand of hair behind her ear.

"I can taste myself," she muses, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. When she raises her hand to touch my lips with her fingertips, I press a kiss to each one. Never taking my eyes from hers, I raise up on one elbow, using my other hand to reach for the buttons on her blouse. I unbutton the first one but when I go lower, she grasps onto my hand, stopping me.

"I want to, Damon but I'm not ready for that yet," she whispers, her eyes never leaving mine. After I stare at her for a long moment, I lean forward, stealing another kiss from her lips.

"Please understand," she whimpers. Once more, I brush some flyaway hairs behind one of her ears, then use my palm to caress her beautiful face. I lower my lips to her ear, first pressing a kiss to that spot.

"I understand. I'll happily wait for as long as you need me to, okay?" After biting on that lower lip, I feel her body relax beneath me.

"Thank you," she breaths, pulling my lips to hers once more.

"Will you stay with me anyway? I just want to hold you in my arms," I whisper, staring into her doe eyes. When she nods, I sit up and take her hand, helping her up. I start to reach for my crutches when she places her hand on mine.

"You don't need those, use me," she says, squeezing my hand. I shake my head up and down then use my arms to push myself up. She wraps my left arm around her shoulders, wrapping her right arm around my middle. Although my ankle hurts as we make our way to my bedroom, I revel in the feel of her arms around me.

Once we reach my bed, I drop down onto it, blowing out a puff of air. "That's hard work," I utter.

"I like helping you," she smiles shyly, sitting beside me on the bed. Leaning over, I whisper in her ear that I like it too.

Pointing towards my dresser, "My tee shirts and boxers are in the second drawer if you want something more comfortable to sleep in."

Bobbing her head up and down, she gets up, pulls out the drawer, grabbing one of each.

"Is that the bathroom?" she asks, pointing to the door.

"Yes. While you're over there, would you hand me a pair too?" Grimacing, I balance on my leg so I can drop my jeans to the floor. Sitting back down, I slide them off my legs, tossing them aside. After grabbing an extra pair of boxers for me, her eyes widen just a tad when she sees me taking my prosthesis off.

"Can I help?" she asks.

"There isn't much to it but sure. Sitting on the bed beside me, she watches me as I take it off. Taking her hand, she runs her hand over my stump, caressing it gently.

"Does it ever hurt?"

"Yeah, sometimes it does but not much. One time I got a blister from my running leg because it wasn't fit properly. I ended up spending a week in the hospital because I developed cellulitis from that blister. I had to have IV antibiotics for a several days. That was really painful," I explain.

"I can't tell you how much I admire you for overcoming this obstacle. You really have 'seized the day' as it were.

"Thank you," I whisper, pulling her into my arms and kissing her fiercely. She pulls back breathlessly.

"Um, I'm just going to go in the bathroom and change."

Nodding, I smile tightly when she stands up. Never taking my eyes off of her, I have to shake off my lust again when I see her perfect bottom as she sashays into the bathroom. After discarding the rest of my clothes, I slip into the clean pair of boxers then scoot up in bed to pull the covers back. When she comes out, she's wearing no makeup but she's even more beautiful if that's at all possible. Although I don't want to get up, I do. With a grimace that I try to hide from her, I gingerly make my way into the bathroom. Once my business is done and my teeth are brushed, I walk back, grabbing on the wall to balance myself before finally plopping onto the bed. Leaning over, I turn off the lights and pull the covers over us.

I give her a wink then pull her into my arms. Taking a deep breath, I press a kiss to her hair, stroking her back at the same time.

"Goodnight Damon," she whispers while gently massaging my chest with her hand.

"Goodnight. Thank you, Elena," I whisper, pressing another kiss to her hair before closing my eyes. The feeling of having her in my arms brings such a sense of tranquility to me that it literally takes minutes for me to drift off into sleep, her beautiful face starring in my dreams.

* * *

When I wake up in the morning, the sun is peaking through the slats in the blinds, playing off the strands of Elena's hair. I gently finger her hair because I don't want to wake her up yet. This girl is such a contradiction. Clearly she enjoyed my ministrations last evening. Blowing out a puff of air, I'm perplexed as to why she'd let me go 'there' but wouldn't let me see her breasts?

Could it be that she's lacking in sexual experiences? I'm at a loss because she's both beautiful and exceptionally kind, surely she wasn't lacking suitors both growing up and in college? To borrow Churchill's words, she a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Hearing her whimper softly, I pull her tighter into my arms. She settles down, snuggling in closer for a few moments before she starts thrashing around. When I feel my chest getting wet, I look down at her again. Her fawn-colored eyes are wide open, moist with tears and staring at me.

"Elena?" I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Repositioning onto my side, I cuddle her against my chest and pet her hair.

"Is something wrong?" I ask, afraid that she regrets last night. I lift my stump and wrap it around her leg so our bodies are flush one against the other. I feel her picking what little chest hair I have, pulling gently. When I involuntarily pull away from it, she kisses my chest before looking up at me.

"I don't regret it, Damon. I just had a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, still holding her close. After shaking her head back and forth, she buries her head against my chest.

"What time is it?" she asks, her voice muffled. Bringing my hand up to gently raise her chin, I tell her that it's just before nine and then I plant a big fat juicy kiss on her beautiful lips.

"Spend the day with me?" I ask, lifting another kiss.

"Um, what did you have in mind?"

"I thought we could go for a drive or maybe we could go to the beach and take a dip in the ocean. I could call the gang and see if they'd like to join us?"

"That sounds nice. Do you mind if I take a shower?"

Releasing her from my grasp, I pull away and sit up at the bedside. She crawls out of the bed beside and presses a kiss to my cheek.

"Thank you for last night." Looking her in the eyes, I smile tightly before reaching over to pick up my prosthesis. After I hear the bathroom door close, I put it on and walk gingerly into the living room to grab my crutches. I'll have to have Matt help me if he and Caroline come along because crutches aren't going to work very well at the beach. Once I have my crutches, I go into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Looking into the fridge, I grab what I need to make some omelets.

I reach up to grab the cutting board then I start to dice onions, peppers and mushrooms. I have a little bit of ham in the there too so I slice that up as well. When I'm done cutting up ingredients, I throw them in the skillet with a couple of tablespoons of butter. After grinding some pepper on top, I add a little salt and garlic. As that's cooking, I open up the cupboard and grab a couple of coffee mugs, filling mine. Taking a deep swallow, I startle a little when I feel her wrap her arms around my middle and press a kiss between my shoulder blades.

"Good morning," she whispers. Turning around, I wrap my arms around her and kiss her properly.

"Whatever you're cooking smells delicious," she says, looking into the skillet.

"I'm making 'Denver' omelets." I pick up the coffee carafe and pour her a cup.

"Sounds yummy. Can I help?"

"Sure, you can set the table if you want." Turning away from her, I hand her a couple of plates and point out the silverware drawer for her. I'll give the guys a call when we finish eating. Is the beach okay?"

"Yeah, I would like to get to know Caroline, Jenna and Bonnie a little better."

"I'm sure they feel the same way. I mean you are spending the summer with us. Have a seat, breakfast is ready." She sits down but pulls out a chair for me. Using the spatula, I put an omelet on each plate then carry the skillet back to the sink.

"Whew," I utter, taking a seat beside her at the table. Digging in, I take a few bites only to notice that she's staring at me.

"Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head back and forth, she then sets her fork down and turns those doe eyes on me.

"Are you upset about last night?"

"No, why would you think that?" I ask, putting my fork down and placing my hand atop hers.

"I don't know, you just seem a little distant this morning?"

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about my leg. I really like you, Elena but my leg has been a big turn off to some women. But none of them make me crazy like you do," I tell her honestly.

"Hey," she says softly, picking up my hand.

"It's not to me. I know we're really just getting to know each other Damon but it's really a testament to your will to live. I mean, against all odds, you're sitting here with me now."

A smile forms on my lips as I lean over to lift a sweltering kiss from her lips.

"Your eggs are getting cold," I tell her when I pull away. Shaking her head, she presses just a wisp of a kiss to my lips before sticking another bite of egg in her mouth.

* * *

"Hey little brother, you need a hand?" Matt asks when I swing myself out of the driver's seat.

"Hello Elena," he adds.

"I would appreciate it," I tell him, as I push myself to a standing position.

"Hi Matt, is Caroline here?" Elena asks when she steps out of the car.

Pointing in a westerly direction, "She's right over there with Bonnie and Jenna."

"I'm just going to go over by them," she says, staring at me for a moment before walking away. Looking down at my feet, I'm at a loss to understand why she seems so distant today. I told her that I was fine with waiting till she was ready. Raising my eyes, I watch as she and Caroline are talking quietly. I wish I knew what was churning inside that pretty little head of hers, I think to myself, shaking my head slightly. I'm stirred from my musings when I hear my brother's voice.

"What's with her?"

"I don't know Matt. She stayed overnight with me last night." When he gives me an eye full, I glare at him for a minute adding, "Don't look at me like that. You're the one who told me to go after what I want."

"I didn't mean it like that, Damon. She just seemed a little nervous, that's all."

"Exactly. She seemed fine when we got up but on the way over, she got tight lipped. I have no idea where I stand with her or what's swirling inside her mind?"

"She's young, Damon."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just beginning to think that maybe I should've kept my mouth closed," I tell him, expelling a puff of air.

"I can't tell you what to do of course, but if you want my two cents, I'd say give her some time."

Nodding, "Shall we join them?"

He steps beside me to help me walk should I need him to. He'll catch me if I stumble like he always has.

"Ladies," I greet them when Matt and I finally reach our group.

"Where are Ric and Brady?"

Shielding her eyes, Caroline points towards the water.

"They're on their surfboards. Ric brought his kayak along in case you wanted to go in the water?"

"I'd like that. Want to help me get it in the water?" I ask, looking at Matt.

"Sure, come on. It's a two-seater, let's go, baby brother," he teases. Caroline and Jenna get up to help him carry it down to the water.

"Do you want to go in, Elena?" I ask, not really knowing where I stand with her.

"I might go in the water with the girls," she says, her eyes focused on the wine cooler that she has in her hands.

"Can I have a swallow?" Without saying anything, she hands it to me. I still feel the pops and crackles when my skin touches hers. Tilting her head slightly, she raises her eyes.

Once I take a swallow, I hand it back to her before ripping off my tee shirt. Then I hobble down to the water's edge where Matt is waiting for me.

We push the boat into the water till it's about waist deep and then climb in and start paddling farther out from shore. When I look towards the beach, I see the girls in the surf but Elena is just teetering along the edge of the water. It's almost like she's afraid to go in? If so, why would her career choice be marine biology? This girl is so confusing to me, I think to myself, shaking my head subtly.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Matt asks.

"I was just thinking about Elena. She's gorgeous and kind but she runs hot and then cold, I just don't know what to think?" I confess.

"If you want my two cents, I do think she likes you too but I get the impression that maybe she's inexperienced. One day at a time, Damon."

"I guess I'll leave it to her to make the next move. You ready to head back to the shore or should we paddle around a little more?"

"Let's stay out a little longer. We haven't done this for awhile."

"Sounds good," I tell him then stick my oar back into the water and follow his lead.

* * *

As the sun is beginning to set over the horizon, using my crutches again, I walk along with Elena to her apartment door.

With her back to me as digs in her purse, I assume to look for her house key. Finding it, she puts it in the lock and opens it. Pausing, she turns around.

"Thank you for a wonderful day and last night."

Not knowing which Elena is with me now, hot Elena or cool Elena, I half smile, half grimace when I reply, "No problem."

"Um, do you want to come in for something to drink?"

"Not tonight, I'm exhausted. I have to pack for tomorrow. We do have a plane to catch. Do you want me to pick you up to go to the airport?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Standing on her tip toes, she raises up and presses a soft kiss to my lips.

"Goodnight, Damon."

"Goodnight," I reply, watching as she walks inside. Our eyes remain focused on each other till she closes the door, effectively ending the spell.

Shaking my head, I lean over, pick up my crutches and walk home, my stomach roiling in a maelstrom of everything Elena.

* * *

 _Thank you Eva for everything. Thanks so much to all of you for your reviews and support. It's been a tough weekend, I miss my dog so much. He was just such a big part of our family._

 _Both 'Shatter Me' and 'What If I Was Nothing' updated this weekend as well. Please give those a look and remember to hit that REVIEW button._

 _I do hope you'll all have a wonderful day. As always, stay safe and be happy. We'll see you all next week._


	8. Secrets

When I get home, I drop onto the couch, letting my head fall back. Closing my eyes, I remember that it was just last night that I had Elena writhing beneath me. Blowing out a puff of air, I get up and grab a cold beer out of the fridge. I take a big swallow then go into my bedroom. Sitting down on the edge of my bed, I set the bottle down on the bedside stand. Quickly I take my clothes off and amble into the bathroom, limping gingerly as I go along.

Completely exhausted, I take ahold of the sink's edge and close my eyes for a few moments, gripping so tightly that my knuckles are white. After several minutes, I finally get into the shower, holding on to the shower wall to maintain my balance. I let the water pelt down on my body for quite sometime before reaching for my shower wash. Squirting a good size dollop on my scrunchie, I begin to cleanse my body. Once I'm done with that, I squirt some shampoo into my palm, wash and rinse my hair before turning off the water. I sit at the tub's edge so I can swing around to stand up.

Sucking in a shuddering breath, I grab hold of my safety rail and pull myself up, bearing my weight on my leg. After toweling off, I put my leg back on for a bit so I can pack my suitcase. I grab several pair of jeans, tee shirts and shorts along with underwear and socks. Reaching back into the drawer, I also grab a pair of swim trunks. Once I have everything packed, I collapse on the bed, take off my leg again and drop my head onto the pillow. Even though I'm completely and utterly exhausted, I still toss and turn as the contradiction also known as Elena fills my thoughts.

* * *

Fortunately after tossing and turning for a couple of hours, I did finally fall asleep. When I wake up the next morning, I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling for I don't know how long when my reverie is broken by my ' _Jurassic Park_ ' theme ringtone.

"Hello?"

"Damon, I'm just entering your building. Are you packed?"

"Shit! Yes, I'm packed but I'm still in bed. I'll unlock the door and then get dressed. See you in a couple minutes," I tell him before hanging up. I practically fly out of bed. After using the bathroom, I slip on a pair of boxers and my leg then go to unlock the door for Matt before going into the bathroom to get back into the shower.

Walking out with a towel wrapped around my waist, Matt walks into my bedroom and hands me a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"Thanks. It's good," I tell him, taking a deep slog. He smiles, holding his cup up in a mock toast.

"I need to you to come over every morning to make my coffee," I tease.

"Are you in a better mood today?" he asks.

"Yeah I guess. I tossed and turned for awhile but I did manage to get a few hours of sleep. I'm just going to step back and let her make the next move. I don't want to push her into something she's not ready for," I tell him, taking a another swallow of coffee.

"Where's Caroline?"

"She walked over to Elena's apartment. They'll meet us at the car in...," he says, pausing to look at his watch. "In about thirty minutes. Are you packed?" Nodding, I tilt my head towards my suitcase.

"I'll let you get dressed and I'll set this by the door," he says, picking it up and walking out of my bedroom.

* * *

Soon we're in the air, flying south towards San Diego. Elena and I are sitting together with Matt and Caroline in the seat across from us. Ric and Brady took an earlier flight. They'll meet us at our hotel. Tomorrow we'll get up early and get to the marina, board our vessel and begin our voyage towards the Baja Peninsula, Guadalupe Island and 'my' island. I really excited to go back there. We may have to try to sail around it to see if it can be accessed by boat.

Last summer when we found it, it was far too dangerous. There were rocks and cliffs as far as we could see. The waves were crashing onto the rocks making it impenetrable by boat. I really hope that conditions will be better this year.

"What are you thinking about?" Elena asks, placing her hand atop mine.

Smiling, I chew on my lower lip for a second while I stare at her.

"Tell me?"

"I was just thinking about my island and what I want to do this year. I also tell her about our plans to try to tag some great white sharks so we can track their movements for the next several months. The data that we could get makes me almost giddy as I explain it to her animatedly while moving my hands.

She laces our fingers together then leans back into our seat and closes her eyes. Elena seems to run hot and then cold. Maybe she is inexperienced and unsure of herself and me. If I were to be honest with myself, I have given her reason to be wary. She's seen me leave with two different women plus another one accosted us that day. I'll have to walk the straight and narrow for the foreseeable future if I'm going to convince her that she's different somehow. I've had my share of one night stands but I've never been in love before.

There was one girl I dated during my first year of college. And sure, we liked each other but neither of us was in it for the long haul. We had a good time while it lasted then we went our separate ways. When I went to graduate school, I was just too busy for a girlfriend. I ate, breathed, and slept my graduate courses. I barely found the time go home except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring breaks.

"This is your captain speaking. We're making our final approach into San Diego International Airport. The seatbelt lights are now flashing. Turn off all electrical devices. It's been a pleasure to fly with you all today," he says over the intercom system.

Seeing how Elena is asleep, I reach over, grabbing her seatbelt and securing it for her. I wrap her arm in mine and close my own eyes as I feel the plane begin to descend. I jump slightly when I feel the wheels make contact with the runway. I look out the window as the plane taxis to its gate. When the plane finally comes to a stop, I gently nudge Elena to wake her up.

"Elena, we're here," I whisper, pressing a wisp of a kiss to her ear.

"Wha...what?" she asks, sitting upright.

"We just arrived in San Diego. Did you sleep good?"

Nodding, she smiles and squeezes my hand. Once the aisle clears out enough for us to get out of our seats and grab our bags from the overhead storage bin, we walk out of the plane and into the terminal.

* * *

Once we pick up our belongs from the baggage claim area, we all walk hand in hand outside to see if our ride is here. Fortunately it doesn't take us long to find Ric and Brady waiting for us.

"Hey guys," I greet them, giving each of them a handshake. Matt does the same while Caroline and Elena each get hugs.

"What's that face?" Elena asks, laughing at me.

"Well, I didn't get a hug," I pout.

"Awe, poor Damon," Ric teases, walking over to give me a bear hug.

"Can't breathe Ric," I sputter, laughing. He lets me go, giving me slap on the arm before picking up my bag. I didn't bring the crutches along because they'll be useless on a boat deck. I've got an ace wrap on it to give it a little support. Ric rented a big SUV so fortunately there's room for all of us to fit in the vehicle, but unfortunately for us, we get stuck in a traffic jam because of a car accident which delays our travel for a couple of hours. By the time we get to the marina, it's late afternoon.

Luckily my buddies are very competent people. They already have the boat filled with groceries and it's ready for us to go. We decide to sleep on the boat so we can get an early start in the morning. Ric and Brady share one room. There are three altogether. I need to know if Elena would prefer to bunk in with Caroline and me with Matt or if she wants to share a room with me.

Tired, she wraps her arm in mine and leans her head against it. "I'll bunk with you, if that's okay?"

"I was hoping you'd want to," I tell her, pressing a kiss to her hair. Reaching down, I pick up her bags following Ric as he leads us to one of the rooms. I step aside so Elena can walk in first. Once the door is closed, I drop the suitcases, grab onto her wrist and pull her flush against my body so I can steal a heady kiss from her lips. Inwardly, I feel a sense of ease when she kisses me back with purpose. In seconds, I feel her hands cradle my face to tilt it slightly so she can kiss me more forcefully. When she does, I wrap my arms around her, stroking between her shoulder blades till both of us pull apart.

Looking awed, she reaches up and touches my lips with her fingertips and then touches her own lips with them. "Damon?" she whispers.

Wrapping my arms around her again, I press a kiss to her forehead then lean in and kiss behind her ear before pulling back. "You're tired," I observe when she yawns deeply, covering her mouth with her hand.

"It's only about eight o'clock but if you're tired, you can go to sleep. I'm just going to go talk to the guys about our itinerary and have a look at our maps and charts. You can join us or you can stay here," I tell her, hugging her close. If you'd prefer to stay here, I can go over the charts with you tomorrow. You are also here to learn so I don't want to be remiss in that responsibility," I tell her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I am tired so if you don't mind, I'd rather have you go over those things with me in the morning. Maybe I'll just clean up and crawl into bed to read for awhile if that's okay?"

"Of course, sweetheart," I whisper, stealing another smoldering kiss from her already kiss-swollen lips before backing away and stepping out of our room.

* * *

After spending a couple of hours with the guys discussing our route and testing out our cradle so we'll be able to tag some sharks. I'm so excited about it and for Elena to experience this even though I suspect she has a deep seated fear of sharks. Sharks are scary but fascinating creatures. I was terrified after I lost my leg but thanks to my grandpa, I was able to swallow back that fear and learn to see them and the beauty that they possess.

As quietly as I can, I step back into our room. She's dozing, her book splayed across her chest. Unwittingly a smile forms on my lips. Although I can't tip toe with a fake leg, I walk as quietly as I can to the bedside. Stooping over, I pick the book up and set it on the bedside table then turn the lamp off.

"Elena," I whisper.

In a sleep induced stupor, she fumbles around a little bit as she tries to get her bearings. "Damon?"

"Hey," I whisper, reaching over to gently palm her cheek with my right hand.

"I just set your book down and turned the light off."

"Oh.. okay," she replies, still groggy sounding.

"Lay down, I'll cover you up. I'm going to clean up myself and then I'm coming to bed too. When she nods, I pull back the covers, holding them up while she scoots down in bed. Once she's comfortably positioned on her left side, I press a kiss to her temple then cover her up. Walking around to the other side of the bed, I sit down on the edge so I can take my shoe off. Exhaling a couple of deep breaths, I stand back up and go into the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth.

Surprisingly, by the time I walk out of the bathroom, she's awake. I pull back the covers and climb in. Rolling onto my back, I stare at the ceiling, a smile erupts on my lips when I feel her scoot over and bury her face against my side. My eyes widen when I feel her splay her hand across my lower belly, rubbing provocatively.

"Elena?" I whisper, turning my head to face her just as she tilts her head so she can see into mine. Without taking her eyes off of me, her fingers slide under the elastic waistband of my boxer shorts. Her fingers tangle in my hair as she continue to rub me softly.

"Elena," I groan when her thumb makes a swipe over my tip. I moan as she continues to brush the pad of her thumb across the slit. Unable to control my body, my hips thrust forward when she wraps her little hand around my already throbbing erection, squeezing gently as she strokes the length of me. I reach down, placing my hand over hers encouraging her to squeeze me a little more firmly. My eyes practically roll back into my head at how good this feels. She raises up on her other elbow, dropping a scorching kiss to my lips. Deepening the kiss, I wrap my left hand around her neck, burying my fingers in her hair. Tilting her head just so, I run my tongue along the edge of her lips till she opens her mouth letting me in.

I pull back panting as she continues to work me feverishly. My breath hitches, coming in short ragged gasps just before I shake violently, spilling myself onto my belly. Completely spent, my body shudders and quivers with aftershocks. Once I get my wits about me, I roll over to sit at the bedside, my breath still coming in spurts.

"Wow, Elena," I whisper, my voice hoarse with desire. Although my body continues to tremor chaotically, I sit up at the edge of the bed. I hang onto the furniture, using it to balance myself to get into the bathroom so I can wipe myself off. After cleaning up, I crawl back get back into bed immediately attacking her lips with ferocity. Rolling her beneath me, my hands fondle her breasts as my thumbs caress her protruding nipples. Hoping to pull her pajama top off, I reach for the hemline. As my fingers take ahold, a look of stark terror fills her eyes. A millisecond later, she darts out of bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. When I hear the bathroom door lock, I drop back onto the bed in shock as to what just happened.

Before long I hear her crying. Perplexed, I once again grab hold of the furniture for balance before stopping at the bathroom door. My heart drops into my stomach as I stand, palms flush against the bathroom door, "Elena, do you want me to leave?"

"No, please don't go," she blubbers, her voice muffled by her tears.

"What do you want me to do?" I ask, my own voice cracking.

"I don't know," she wails aloud. Feeling completely at a loss, I get myself back to the bed, pull on my boxers and a tee shirt before strapping on my leg and leaving our room. I know she told me not to go but I couldn't take her tears. Something is haunting her but for the life of me, I don't know what it is. And unless she confides in me, I won't be able to help her. Staring up at the sky, I watch the stars twinkle before gazing long and hard at the full moon as it casts it's shadow on the surface of the Pacific. Dropping my chin to my chest, I expel several deep breaths as I try to get my emotions in check. I'm crazy about her but if she's going to freak out every time we're on the cusp of making love, I can't do this to her, I care too about her too much for that.

Knowing I need to end this before it goes any further, I start to go to Matt's room to see if Caroline will trade rooms with me. Just as I'm about to raise my hand to knock on Matt's door, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Come back to our room," she whispers.

"Elena," I say, dropping my head. When I feel her let go, I sigh in relief only to feel her fingers on my chin, raising it gently.

"Please come back," she asks, her voice sincere and her eyes pleading. Closing my eyes, I take in a deep breath before nodding. Her sigh of relief is evident as she takes my hand, pulling me back towards our room. She nudges me to sit onto the bed. Once I do, she takes the initiative and takes my leg off.

"Lay down." When I do, she presses a soft kiss to my lips before crawling in on the other side of the bed. In minutes, she's snuggling into my side, wrapping her arm around my middle. Covering my eyes with my left arm, I lay there, staring at nothing. Before long, I hear her breaths coming out in a slow and even cadence. Turning my head, I press a wispy kiss to her hair before closing my eyes. My mind is in a flurry, leaving me feeling more perplexed than ever about the girl who's sharing my bed.

* * *

 _Thank you Eva so much. And thanks so much to all of you for reading, reviewing, following and for marking this as a favorite._

 _I could listen to the 'Jurassic Park' theme on repeat all day long. I love it. John Williams is a genius._

 _Title: 'Secrets' by OneRepublic_

 _Eva and I are nearing completion on one of the two stories we're working on. We're also trying to come up with an idea for this years 'Christmas' story as well. Last years story was 'My Favorite Wife'. It's only 7 chapters but it's a fun, angst-free story. Also a O/S called 'Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus'. Feel free to give those a look if you're interested._

 _I'm hoping to begin posting this sometime in October. As I said, it's not done yet and I absolutely refuse to start posting it till it's completely written but here's a little tease of 'Rainy Days and Mondays'_

 _Tangling my hand in her hair, I tip her head just the way I want it allowing me to deepen the kiss. The moan that escapes her mouth is needy and full of want. Pressing my naked body against hers, I grind my hardness against her drenched lady parts. Using my hips, I tease her till she's practically begging me to take her. As I begin my decent down her body, she grabs onto my face leading it to her beautiful breasts. I swirl my tongue around first one then her other nipple, softly scraping them with my teeth before latching on, suckling as if I'm a hungry baby needing sustenance._

 _She's writhing in need as I let go of one nipple with a plop and continue down her body, laving her belly button with my tongue before moving even further south, settling between her legs when she widens them for me. The hungry look in her eyes ignites the already burning fire that I always feel whenever the two of us are together this way. When I press my lips and tongue to her flesh, she shamelessly laces her hands in my hair holding me close as I gently worry her clit with my teeth before using my tongue to probe, lap and swirl it inside of her. My name escapes her lips with reverence, almost like a prayer. And with a few more flicks of my tongue and pass with my fingers, she lets go, her body convulsing in the pleasure that only I have given her._

 _*Reviews are Love* Stay safe and have a wonderful day and week ahead. See you all next week._


	9. I Want to Dance With Somebody

When I finally wake up the next morning, Elena is still snuggled in next to my chest, her right leg wrapped around mine. I laid awake for along time, wondering what is churning inside that pretty little head of hers. As much as I want her and care about her, I don't want to be the be the cause of such deep-seated anxiety. Although I don't believe I put it there in the first place, something about us is roiling up painful memories for her.

Exhaling heavily, I reposition myself slightly so I can see what time it is. My eyes widen when I see that it's after eight o'clock already. Carefully I raise her arm and lay it on her side before pulling my leg out from under hers. Sitting up at the bedside, I drop my head into my hands for a few moments before shaking off the sleepy feeling. Once I feel fairly awake, I put my leg on and stand up.

Since I'm not able to tip toe with a fake leg, I walk out of our room as quietly as I can and head up to the main deck where I see Ric and Brady discussing something.

"Morning," I greet them when I step in beside Brady.

"Good morning, Damon," Ric replies, Brady nodding.

"Is Matt up yet?"

"No, he hasn't come up yet. We're just about to pull out of the slip and get a move on. Are you ready?"

"Very much so." Pointing at the map, I tell them that I want to venture into the 'Sea of Cortez' too.

"We do every year, Damon. Why would you think we were going to skip it this year?"

"I don't know. I'm going to get something to eat. Do you guys want something?" I ask as Ric turns on the engine and starts to steer the boat out of our slip, guiding it towards the open ocean.

"Bring me another cup of coffee would you?" Brady asks, standing beside Ric.

"Will do," I reply then go back below deck to cook some breakfast. Just as I'm about to walk past our room, Elena steps out, her hair in braided pigtails.

"Cute," I remark, giving her a wink.

The expression on her face doesn't change when she pushes herself up to press a kiss to my lips.

"Will you be able to go over your itinerary with me this morning?"

"Sure, but after we eat. I'm starved," I tell her, turning my back to her to walk into the galley.

"Me too. Can I help?"

Bobbing my head up and down, I step aside and gesture for her to go first with my outstretched arm. Once inside, I tell her to grab some pancake mix out of the cupboard.

"I'll mix up the pancakes if you want to start frying the bacon."

"I can do that," she says, smiling. After she has it laid out in the pan, she turns to stare at me.

"Are we okay?" she asks, as if nothing weird happened last night again.

"I don't know, Elena. If being with me causes you to puke and cry like someone killed your puppy, I think maybe it's not a good idea."

"It wasn't you, Damon. I swear it wasn't."

"Then what is it? You can talk to me, Elena, I care about you."

"I know," she replies, dropping her eyes.

"Know this, I'm not taking you to bed again other than to sleep if you're going to react like that every time. It hurts me to see you hurt," I confess, turning my attention back to my pancakes.

"Please don't give up on me," she asks, reaching up to wipe the moisture from her eyes.

Exhaling deeply, I drop my head for a moment. When I look up again, I open my arms, letting her come to me. I close my eyes when I have her wrapped in my arms. She fits perfectly. When we hear an, "Uh um," we step apart.

"Good morning," Caroline and Matt say together, standing in the doorway.

"What's cooking," Matt asks, stealing a piece of bacon off the plate as Elena continues to fry it.

"Pancakes and bacon. Why don't you get Ric and Brady down here? We can eat and then I want to show Elena our route and explain some of the things we hope to accomplish. As luck would have it, Ric and Brady follow right behind Matt and Caroline. We all sit down to eat after I plate the pancakes and set the butter and syrup on the table. After we eat, Elena and Caroline offer to do the dishes so the guys and I head up top. About twenty minutes later, the two of them join us topside.

Turning to Elena, I ask her if she remembered to bring her passport since we will be in Mexican waters. When she nods I explain that Guadalupe Island is approximately two hundred and twenty miles south of San Diego and one hundred and fifty miles from the Baja Coast. Guadalupe Island is about twenty miles long and seven miles with cliffs rising thousands of feet from the sea floor. The highest part of the island towers over four thousand feet above sea level," I explain to her as I point it out on the map.

Wild goats, giant elephant seals and a few lobster fisherman and Mexican marines are the only inhabitants of the island. There are big Bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail and calico bass in these waters. In late summer through mid winter, the great white sharks are in the area. That's why we're going now at the end of July," I tell her, flashing her my eye thing as Caroline calls it.

I flash a genuine smile when I see a hint of rose coloring her features.

"The first couple of days we're going to spend in the Sea of Cortez to see if we can round up a couple of white sharks. We put out some bait and use our smaller boat to lure them into the cradle. We raise it up so they're out of the water and then we quickly tag their dorsal fin and let them swim free."

"Aren't you afraid though?" she asks, grimacing slightly.

"We cover their eyes and put a hose in their mouth to keep their gills aerated. We work very quickly Elena. Of course, I'd never be so foolish as to stick a hand in their mouth but when they're raised up on the cradle, they can't swim forward and eat us," I laugh.

"It will certainly be interesting to watch," she replies, still looking a little unsure.

"You'll do fine," I tell her confidently, hoping to allay her fears a little bit.

Subtly, she places her hand in mine, squeezing gently. Lowering my eyes, I look into hers for a second then press a kiss to her forehead. When I let go, she steps back so I can walk over to the side of the boat and take a seat. Patting the space beside me, I gesture for her to come to sit by me.

"You okay with all of this?" I ask when she drops into the spot next to me.

"I'm excited but I'm also terrified," she adds, looking down at her clasped hands.

"Goes with the territory. I'm not going to force you into the shark cage, nor will I make you jump into the cradle with us, but I'd really like you to. It might help to alleviate your fears a little," I explain.

"When the shark took my leg, I was scared to death of sharks and to go back into the water. But my grandpa really took the bull by the horns, encouraging me to face my fears rather than run from them. I'll always be grateful to him for that."

"I am in awe of you for being able to do this kind of work after losing your leg to a shark. I hope I can learn not to hate them too. Especially since I want this career." Looking out at the horizon and the ocean before us, I smile when I see them.

"Look," I tell her, pointing to the family of dolphins that has appeared in the waters beside the boat. I can't help the feeling that creeps into my heart when I see how excited she is looking at the dolphins.

"We should see some whales too when we get into the Sea of Cortez," I tell her. Just as I start to stand up, we hit a wave or something because next thing I know I'm sprawled on the deck floor.

"Oh my gosh Damon, are you okay?" Matt asks, running over to me. Shaking off my stupor, I nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply, rubbing the bump that's already forming on my head. Taking a deep breath, I take Matt's hand so he can help me stand back up.

"Are you sure?" he asks, running his hands down my arms to make sure. Matt has always done this. Even before I lost my leg, he was always making sure I was okay. If I fell and scraped my knee, he'd take my hand and lead me to mom so she could fix it up. He has always made sure that I'm okay. The two of us have an unbreakable bond. Of course we love Stefan but it's not the same with him.

"I'm sure, Matt. Thanks," I tell him, pulling him in for a short squeeze.

"If you all don't mind, I'm going to go to our room and take a nap. I didn't sleep well last night," I utter, glancing at Elena.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" Matt repeats himself.

"I'm not hurt, I promise," I tell them before turning away to walk below deck. Once I get in my room, I drop onto the bed and take my leg off before laying down. Although my head does hurt, I don't want anyone to worry unnecessarily. Yawning deeply, I close my eyes letting fatigue overwhelm me as I drift off to sleep.

* * *

Opening my eyes, I stretch my limbs before swinging my leg over the side to sit up. When I glance at the clock, I realize that I've been asleep for a couple of hours. Feeling refreshed, I put my leg on then go back up top.

"Hey," Caroline asks. "Do you feel okay? I mean, I was a little worried about you going to sleep after bumping your head."

"I'm fine, thanks sis," I reply, wrapping her in a one-armed hug.

"You're welcome. I was going to come down to wake you if you didn't come up soon."

"I appreciate it."

"Damon," Matt says, running his arms down mine to check me over one more time.

"You're not hurt?"

"No Matt. I just have a knot on the back of my head," I tell him, grimacing when I run my fingers over the bump.

Looking around, I don't see her. "Where's Elena?"

"She'll be right back, she just went below deck to change into her bathing suit. She and I are going to try to get a sun...," her voice trailing off when Elena appears in her one piece swimsuit.

Damn she's gorgeous, I think to myself. But I was really looking forward to seeing her beautiful body in a bikini. I manage to slake my lust just as she steps beside me.

"Hi," she says, smiling at me.

Bending over slightly, I press a kiss to her cheek.

"Hi yourself. You're going to sunbathe with Caroline?"

"That's okay isn't it? I mean, I can change if you have something for me to do?"

"It's fine, Elena. Tomorrow we're going to be at Guadalupe Island. I'm going to go into the shark cage. We're also going to try to get a couple of great whites on the cradle so we can attach a transmitting device to the dorsal fin."

"Um.. you're actually going to lift a great white out of the water?"

"That's what we do. Matt, Brady, Ric and I work together like a well-oiled machine. We've been doing this for the last four years. It's amazing to be able to lay your hand on one of those giants. They're beautiful and fascinating creatures," I tell her, my voice breathy as I'm so in awe of sharks.

"Did you know that you get this 'orgasm' face when you talk about sharks?" Elena teases causing everyone to burst out in laughter.

"Hah, hah," I chuckle, rolling my eyes.

"She's right, Damon," Brady teases, giving my shoulder a nudge.

"Should we dock in Ensenada tonight?" Ric asks aloud from where he's perched behind the captain's wheel.

"Sounds good. We can eat at 'El Tiburón'. They have the best food there, Elena. We usually stop there every summer so we're pretty good friends with the proprietors," I utter, licking my lips.

"What does the name mean?"

"The shark," I reply, using my 'eye-thing' to flirt with her.

"Ah, no wonder you like the place," she laughs.

"Come on Elena, we have a couple of deck chairs waiting for us," Caroline says interrupting our reverie.

"Go on," I tell her and I continue to watch her backside as she and Caroline walk to the bow of the boat, disappearing in front of the wheelhouse. Inhaling deeply, I walk over to stand beside Ric. Glancing out over the horizon to stare at an endless sea of blue, I smile realizing that I'm living my dream.

* * *

"Dr. Salvatore, it's good to see you again," the owner of El Tiburón' says, his Spanish accent thick.

"Matt, Brady, Ricky and Miss Caroline," he greets before raising and eyebrow at me when he takes Elena's hand, "and who is this señorita encantadora?"

"Mateo, this beautiful lady is Elena," I reply, taking her other hand in mine.

"Ah," he acknowledges, nodding his head knowingly. Turning to Elena, he whispers something in her ear. Her eyes widen for a moment before she starts giggling. Wrapping her arm in his, he walks her over to a seat at the bar. With my head a little askew, I watch as he grabs his wife, Rosalita to introduce them to each other. A big smile graces my lips when Rosalita looks at me with a sly smile.

"So are we going to grab a booth?" I ask, turning to look at my friends, pointing to an empty one.

"Yeah, let's grab it before someone else comes in," Brady remarks, walking towards it. Glancing over at Elena, I see that she's still chattering away with Rosalita. I slide into the booth beside Brady.

"I'm going to use the ladies room," Caroline says, walking towards the bar where Mateo's wife greets her with a hug too.

"What can I get you?" a waitress says standing beside Ric at the end of the table.

"Bring us some menus, a couple pitchers of beer and some glasses," Matt tells her.

"Tequila?" she asks.

"Later," I tell her, smiling before looking away to see if Elena is still at the bar with Caroline. The two of them are still laughing with Rosalita. As if she realizes I'm staring at her, she turns her head towards me, giving me a finger suggesting she and Caroline will be joining us soon. Just then the waitress comes back. She sets her platter down then passes the glasses around. After giving us our menus, she sets one pitcher on the table using the second one to fill up six glasses. When I put the glass to my mouth to take a swallow, Elena and Caroline finally come back. Standing up, I let her slide in first before sitting back down. Placing my hand on her thigh, I give her squeeze before leaning over to lift a soft kiss from her lips.

As the night wears on, we're all enjoying ourselves, going easy on the Mexican beer because we have to get up early in the morning so can sail around Guadalupe island and hopefully nab some sharks to tag. When our waitress comes around again, we decide to have her bring some tequila and shot glasses over. After she sets down another pitcher of beer, she walks off to fill our order. Elena excuses herself to use the bathroom.

It's been fifteen, maybe twenty minutes and Elena still hasn't returned to our table. The cantina is pretty full tonight. Suddenly the crowd parts for whatever reason and the first person I see is Nick.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I ask, palming my forehead.

"He probably brought his shady group down here to kill sharks. We have to stop him, Damon," Brady says, his eyes fixed on Nick as he and Jules nuzzle each other on the dance floor. For that few seconds, I forgot about Elena. Worried, I get up to look around only to stop short when I see her and Elijah Mikaelson in an embrace. He pulls back for a moment and takes a hold of her hands. My mouth drops open when I see him press a kiss to her forehead. But it's when she wraps her arms around his neck to hug him tightly that my jaw almost literally hits the floor.

An unfamiliar feeling envelopes every cell in my body. It angers me to see her hugging Elijah. She claims to want something with me yet she seems to panic every time we get close to sleeping together. Is it because her heart belongs to another man. A steely resolve fills me when I grab ahold of a pretty signorina pulling her against my chest as I begin to dance with her. Signaling the mariachi band, they begin to play a tango-like tune. Although it's a little difficult with my leg, I still dance along, leading as she matches my movements to a tee. When I turn my eyes away from the girl in my arms, I notice Elena glaring at me. Using a napkin, she dabs her forehead before turning her attention back to Elijah.

We continue to dance till I get tired. When the music stops, I wrap one arm around her to give her a tentative hug. Turning away from her, I look at Elena again. Both of them now have their backs to me. I can literally feel the steam billow from my ears when he wraps his right arm around her, pulling her against his chest before pressing a kiss to her hair.

Suddenly I feel Lilliana's palm against my cheek. Just as I turn to look at her, she crashes her lips to mine using her tongue to pry my lips apart. It takes about a millisecond for me to push her away, shaking my head no. Rearing up, my face jerks to the side when I feel her palm crack against my cheek as she slaps me. With a huff, she stomps off. In a daze, I watch as she plops onto some other sucker's lap.

Shaking my head to clear out the cobwebs, I turn again to look at the bar but Elena and Elijah are gone. When I see that she's not at our table either, my stomach roils with anxiety. With unsteady legs, I walk back to our table but turn to look around again to see if I can see her.

"Where's Elena?" I ask.

"She left with Elijah. I don't know if she liked your little display," Ric teases, a smirk on his face.

"What? It was only a dance. I didn't do anything untoward with Lilliana."

"Maybe not but the tango is pretty erotic," Caroline remarks, raising an eyebrow.

"Not you too! You're supposed to be on my side, Caroline."

"I am on your side but you can't do stuff like that if you want a relationship with her," she says, standing up and pulling me off to the side.

"She was the one who was falling all over Elijah," I huff, raking my hand through my hair. Staring into Caroline's eyes, I don't notice Nick's approach till I smell his alcohol-laden breath.

"You looking for the lovely Elena?" he taunts.

"And I suppose you know where she went?" I utter, rolling my eyes.

"Why yes I do," he slurs before giving Caroline an appreciative once over causing her to shiver next to me. She and Nick dated briefly before I introduced her to Matt. They've been together ever since. I was the best man when they eloped to Las Vegas two years ago. She's actually been on the job longer than either Matt or me. Caroline, Brady, Ric and me were inseparable when I first moved out to the west coast. Matt joined me about six months later after a position opened up at the marine center.

"Leave her alone, Nick." I sneer, pulling Caroline closer to my side since I don't see Matt sitting at our table anymore. He must've gotten up to use the bathroom or something.

"Nick...," I hear just as Jules walks over to stand beside him.

"Damon is looking for Elena. Did you see her?" he asks, pulling Jules into a smoldering kiss. When he's done, he wraps an arm around her neck, bringing her body as close to him as he can.

With his hand that's holding a tumbler of bourbon, he uses his index finger to point at me.

"She took off with Elijah, mate."

"How does it feel to get left behind Damon? Lord knows you're an expert about sneaking out," Jules scoffs, disdain in her voice.

"I'm sure you're an expert at having been left behind, Jules," I snap, walking away with my sister in law in tow.

"Thanks Damon. I appreciate that you went into your overly protective mode for me," Caroline says, reaching up to give me a peck on the cheek.

Nodding, I wrap her arm in the crook of mine to walk back to the rest of our group. When the two of us get back to our table, we both sit back down.

"Nick said that Elena left with Elijah. I suppose we should get back to the boat in case she's waiting for us," I mention, raising my hand to cover my mouth when I yawn.

"Yeah, let's go," Matt says as he stands up and laces his fingers with Caroline's.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her Damon. It still makes my skin crawl when Nick looks at her like she's a piece of meat."

"You know I'd never let him lay a finger on her."

"I know," he replies giving me a nod. After paying our bill, the five of us walk back to the boat. Once we board, I rush as fast as my legs will carry me to our room to see if she's back. I'm sickened when I don't find her. Taking a deep breath, I walk back onto the deck and take a seat in one of the chairs just waiting and watching for her to come back.

It's chilly tonight but I want to wait up for her. I'm feeling both anger because of the way she was all touchy, feely with Elijah and remorse for goading her with Lilliana. I know I need to apologize for my display but so does she. Rubbing my arms to warm myself up, I raise my eyes skyward to look at all the stars twinkling in the night sky. It doesn't take long for my eye lids to drop closed. As I hover on the edge of sleep and wake, I feel the wisp of a kiss lifted from my forehead. Unsure as to whether it is real or in my subconscious, I curl up farther into the chair letting the darkness pull me under.

* * *

 _That was fun! Thank you Eva. Thanks to all of you as well for reviewing. I know I sound like a broken record but it really does spur the creativity muse.. Also a thanks to those of you who follow along and favorite this story._

 _I posted the final chapter of 'Shatter Me' last Friday. Please do give it a look. 'What If I Was Nothing' updated yesterday._

 _I also posted the first chapter of 'Rainy Days and Mondays'. Please take a peak and let me know what you think..._

 _Chapter title: 'I Want to Dance with Somebody' by 'Whitney Houston'._

 _I hope you all have a safe and fabulous rest of the weekend and a good week ahead. I can't believe September is almost over already...*shakes head* Thanks again for all of your support, you have no idea what that means to me._

 _*REVIEWS ARE LOVE* See you next week..._


	10. If She Knew What She Wants

I wake up in a world of pain this morning. Not from drinking too much but from being curled up in a deck chair all night. My neck hurts, my leg hurts and I'm stiff all over. Slowly standing up, I stretch with purpose before hobbling below deck to see if Elena ever made it back. I tried to stay awake but obviously my fatigue was too much causing me to drift off to sleep. I briefly remember feeling a kiss to my forehead. Although I don't know whether I dreamed it or if it was real. The sunrise is beautiful this morning displaying oranges and pinks and yellows. The sea is pristine as the boat gently rocks when the waves lap against the port side.

"Morning Damon," I hear just as Ric shoves a mug of coffee at me.

"Good morning. Did she come back?" I ask him, concerned about Elena.

"Yeah Elijah walked her back here last night. You were already asleep in the chair."

"How come no one woke me?"

"You looked just too cute. No one had the heart," he teases, winking at me.

Shaking my head, I roll my eyes at him before a little chuckle of my own escapes my mouth.

"I'm going to go take a shower. I'll be back in a little bit. Thanks for the coffee buddy," I tell him.

"No problem, boss," he tells me with a mock salute.

When I step into our room, she's still sleeping soundly on the bed, cuddling with my pillow. For some reason that puts a smile on my face. As quietly as I can given my disability, I walk over to the bedside and brush her cheeks ever so softly with the back of my fingers. When she reaches up to rub her nose, I shake my head jovially. After pressing the wispiest of kisses to the crown of her head, I go into the shower.

Dripping wet, I step out of the shower, grabbing a towel to tie around my waist. Taking a second towel, I ruffle my hair a little bit. I usually like to let it air dry. Once again as quietly as I can, I step out in the main room and slip into a pair of boxers and my jeans. Before I can grab a hold of a tee shirt, I feel a hand in the waistband of my jeans pulling me.

"Good morning," she says, covering her mouth with her other hand while she yawns.

"Morning," I whisper, bending over to lift a kiss from her lips.

"I was worried about you, Elena."

"I'm sorry that I worried you but when I saw you carrying on with that woman, I got a little crazy."

"If I were to be honest with you, I got a little crazy when I saw how you and Elijah had your hands all over each other."

Taking a hold of my hand, she adds, "I thought I told you that he's an old acquaintance. There's never been anything nor will there ever be anything romantic between us."

"I know that Elena. I'm sorry too. I'm new at this... whatever _'this'_ is," I tell her, using my hand to gesture from her to me.

"Other than a girl I dated in college, I've always been satisfied with one night stands, friends with benefits, that type of thing. It's different with you though," I tell her, dropping onto the bed where her legs are curled up.

Taking my other hand in hers, she gives them a squeeze at the same time she leans forward to join our lips passionately. Gasping, I pull back completely breathless.

"Wow," I utter, lacing our fingers together.

"As much as I'd like to continue you this, we need to get up top. We're going to venture into the Sea of Cortez today and with any luck, we're going to tag a great white shark. Hopefully we'll see some whales and other wild life. We'll be sailing through there both today and tomorrow. Then on Thursday, we're going to try to get to my island." Shaking my head, I lower my eyes.

"Listen to me, it's like I own it or something," I chuckle, giving her hand a fond squeeze.

"If it's what I think it is, I'm going to try to have it declared a marine sanctuary or preserve so it's protected from poachers and low life's like Nick. Is Elijah here with him by the way?"

"I honestly don't know if they came down here together or not. I did notice when he and that girlfriend of his walked into the cantina. Elijah and I didn't talk to them though. I guess if I were to make assumptions, I'd say they probably did arrive together. As exasperated as Elijah gets with Nick sometimes, they are brothers," she adds, leaning against my chest.

I press a kiss to the top of her head while wrapping my arms around her at the same time, holding her tightly against my chest. My heart is thrumming violently against my rib cage as it does each time I hold her. There's always so much electricity arcing between us when we touch. Sighing happily, I gently push her back far enough so I can cradle her beautiful face with my palms and tilt her head just the way I want so I can kiss her like there's no tomorrow. This time it's her that breaks the kiss causing my heart to stutter even more chaotically when I see how swollen her lips are and how her eyes appear unfocused.

"I'll let you get shower and get dressed." After stealing one last kiss, I get up and walk out of our room with an effervescent skip to my steps..

* * *

Elena and Caroline are chattering away. I can't help but laugh at how animated my sister in law is sometimes. But I have to break up their little gab fest so we can get to work.

"Elena, can you come here? I want to show you these," I ask, holding up one of our pop up satellite tags.

"Those are your tracking devices right?"

"Yep. We insert these at the base of the dorsal fin after we lure them in with the tuna carcasses we have in the freezer. After a set period of time, the tags detach from the shark, float to the surface and transmit collected data such as light, temperature and depth. We've had these tags remain attached for up to one year. They have given us invaluable information on the behavior and movement of the white sharks. Also daily diving patterns and long range migratory movements. With the use of this technology, we have learned that sharks can dive as deep of over three thousand feet and that they spend as much as half of the year away from land out in the middle of the Pacific. We have tagged sharks here at Guadalupe that spend autumn and winter here and begin their offshore migration in late winter to early spring. They spend spring and summer offshore between Baja, California, Mexico and Hawaii before returning here in late summer. We know they travel out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean but what pulls them out there is a mystery," I explain, handing her the tag to look at.

"In conjunction with our satellite tagging, we have also been studying the white sharks through photo identification. We have developed a unique system for identifying individual sharks by their color patterns and currently we have a catalog of over one hundred and fifty sharks from this island. The vast majority of them having been sighted for several years. The data we collect from this project helps to not only track individual sharks but also monitor the status of the overall Guadalupe white shark population calculate an index of abundance to determine if the population is increasing, decreasing or stable. This is important data in white shark management and conservation," I add, my voice echoing the passion I feel for these creatures.

"There's that 'O' face again," she teases, pressing a wispy kiss to my cheek.

"I can't help it Elena. I love them so much. Nearly one hundred million of them are slaughtered every year. How can a population survive that kind of carnage? Can you imagine that absolute devastation if the ocean lost its apex predator?" I shudder even thinking about it.

"They need to be protected," I add, my voice echoing the passion I feel for these gorgeous creatures.

"Really? I didn't know it was that bad."

"It really is," I utter, blowing out a puff of air before continuing.

"Through the combination of pop-up satellite tags and tracking through photo-identification we have been able to show that male sharks return to Guadalupe Island year after year while mature females often disappear for almost two years before returning to the Island. This pattern is most likely associated with mating and giving birth, but where they go has been a mystery. Following the track of satellite- tagged mature female white sharks, we have been able to show that they stay offshore in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for as long as fifteen months. During the known pupping season we have tracked two tagged mature females into the Sea of Cortez, and two additional females to the Pacific coast of Baja, most likely to give birth."

Picking up another kind of tag, I hand it to her. "Pop-up tags provide great data with respect to habitat preferences such as temperature, depth and diving behaviors. However the location data is not very precise and the tracks are not longer than one year. By working with the electronic tag manufacturer, we have developed a new satellite tag to address the weaknesses of pop-up tags. These tags, called SPOT. It stands for smart position or temperature transmitting. These tags, can send near real-time position data up to six years! The drawback is that the tag must be mounted to the dorsal fin of each shark, so the sharks must be captured, tagged and released. However, we have developed handling methods that have proven to be safe and effective, and we are now answering research questions that can be addressed in no other way." I tell her, continuing to explain our work.

"Additionally, the opportunity to exam these live adult white sharks has opened the door to brand new avenues of research that we had never before even considered. We are currently collecting data relative to when and where these sharks may be mating, where the females go when they disappear from seasonal adult aggregation sites like Guadalupe and the Farallon Islands, and where they may go to give birth. White sharks continue to fascinate us, even after more than a decade of research. The more we learn about them the more we are surprised by what we learned and by how many new questions there are to address."

Raking my hand through my hair, I look at her. "What do you think?"

"It's fascinating but I'm still not all that keen on sharks," she hedges.

"It's time to put your feet in the water, figuratively that is," I tease, taking a hold of her hand and pulling it towards the small boat.

"I usually go into the boat because they're all afraid I might slip on the cradle given my leg and all. I've gotten to 'pet' a few great whites though...," I add, my voice trailing.

"We're going to go into the shark cage first. Do you want to join me?" I ask. I can tell she's nervous cause she starts chewing on her fingernails and teetering from one foot to the other.

"You don't have to Elena. You can watch from up top here. Matt is going to go in with me."

"Maybe I'll stay on deck this time."

"That's fine. I'm going to put my wet suit and swim leg on. I'll be right back," I tell her, walking off. When I come back, I see her laughing excitedly, pointing at something in the ocean.

Shrugging my shoulders, I walk over to them to see what they're gawking at.

"Look at the whales, Damon," she squeals when I reach them.

"Gray whales. They are beautiful aren't they?"

"I've never seen whales in the open ocean before. I need to grab my phone so I can film them," she yells, pushing me aside to run down to our room.

Shaking my head, I go over to help Brady put our shark cage together. One we make sure it's secure, we hook it to the winch and the two of us lower it into the water. Matt, wearing his scuba gear comes over to stand beside me. Once I slip my oxygen tank on and the mask over my face, I drop down to the edge of the boat and tumble overboard. Seconds later I'm climbing into the shark cage, Matt follows almost immediately after me.

The water is clear today. A good fifteen to twenty minutes pass and suddenly I feel Matt squeeze my shoulder. When I turn to face him, he points off into the distance where I see not one but two white sharks swimming towards us. Feeling a shiver run I my spine, I still marvel at how magnificent they are. Their beauty is in the eye of the beholder for sure but their sleek lines and white underbelly are a sight. I never tire of seeing them. One of them swims off to the side while the other once starts to butt the cage with her snout. When she takes a hold of the flotation device, shaking from side to side, the two of us thrash around violently.

Finally she lets go and I breathe a sigh of relief. I can about imagine that Caroline and Elena are having kittens up top. I'm ready evacuate the cage when Matt once again grabs a hold of my upper arm, pointing as the two sharks move in on us again. As frightening as this is, I can't stop the big teethy grin that forms on my face as it swims by, close enough for me to touch it's sharp, sandpaper like skin. Once they swim off into the distance, I feel the shark cage being raised. Matt swims out first, I'm right on his tail, watching as Ric helps him on board. Just as I reach for the edge of the boat, I see a dorsal fin break the surface as it moves in closer to me. Brady grabs one arm and Ric the other, pulling me on board just as the white sharks reaches the edge of the boat.

"Did you see that?" I gasp excitedly when I pull the mask off my face, staring at the shark as it finally swims away.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks, running towards me. She has her hands everywhere on me even turning me around to look at my back. If we didn't have an audience, I'd like this much better.

"I'm fine, Elena," I tell her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder when she finally gives up looking for bite marks.

"Did you the one when it went after the cage?" I ask, my voice giddy with excitement.

"I did see them. Their 'smile' kind of gave me a chill," she says, shaking her head.

"Rows and rows and rows of razor sharp teeth," I tease, my voice low and foreboding.

"Yeah, let's not talk about that," she says with a shudder of breath.

"Tell me about the Sea of Cortez."

"Well, it's also known as the gulf of California. It's a seven hundred mile long body of water embraced by mainland Mexico and Baja, California. Mexico catches seventy percent of it's commercial fish here. The Pacific plate once moved northwest off Mexico's west coast and the Sea of Cortez did not exist. Over several million years, the plate movement slowly rotated counterclockwise and produced incredible stresses upon western Mexico. This eventually moved the fault line eastward and slowly ripped off Baja, California," I explain, taking a seat after taking off my wet suit.

The peninsula lifted along the west side of the newly forming gulf. This is a dramatic view of this escarpment of mountains above the town of Loreto. Farther north we're more familiar with this fault also known as the San Andreas. In the south, the ocean filled the growing basin to create the youngest gulf in the world. It now has a remarkable depth of over two miles at its mouth. Much of it's width is over eighty miles across. The basin holds and incredible amount of water." Exhaling sharply, I take a drink of water and continue.

"Tides from the rise and fall of the Pacific Ocean pour in and rush out in a massive movement. The water mixes to a depth fifteen hundred feet and causes a continuous clockwise current of 0.67 miles per hour around the gulf in winter and a counterclockwise current in summer. The northern end has a thirty two-foot tidal range, the third largest in North America. Wind-induced currents also cause major movements of water during the winter. The wind drives the water at three percent of the wind speed and transfers as much as forty percent of its energy.

When water moves away from an island or coastline it is replaced by water from below in a process called upwelling. All this water moving around in the gulf brings up not only deeper water, but large amounts of nutrients as well. All you need is an energy source of plentiful sunlight. This combination spawns productivity, enough to grow a crop of phytoplankton that might turn the water red," I explain making a 'voila' motion with my arms.

Laughing, she rolls her eyes when she watches my theatrics. "Damon, you do know how to make a girl swoon with all this romantic talk," she says sarcastically.

"I guess I'll just have to continue then," I tell her with a wink.

"The Sea of Cortez has been called the Vermilion Sea. The soup of phytoplankton feeds invertebrates that are gobbled up by more than eight hundred kinds of vertebrates including fish, blue and fin whales. The fish are consumed by people, birds, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, sperm whales, humpbacks, and Bryde's whales to mention just a few. There are also over five hundred and fifty five whales that are residents in the Sea of Cortez all year long. It's also one of the best places in the world to see blue whales in February and March. I'd love to bring you down here to see them, Elena. Blue whales are magnificent," I breathe, giving her hand a squeeze.

"The islands within the gulf have their own stories. Native people were active here and traveled by rafts made of aquatic bulrushes called tules. Archaeological sites are common on a number of the islands. Stone flakes, piles of discarded shells and signs of habitation provide evidence of early people found here long before European contact. Few islands have a reliable source of water, however, so they haven't felt the heavy hand of modern man. Biologists working on how plants and animals become established where they are find the perfect laboratory within these islands. There is enough variation in island histories, ages, locations and topography to test and form theories about island biogeography. This place just has so much to offer for a marine scientist," I explain, before raising my water bottle to my lips to take another swallow.

"I'd love to explore the Island a little bit," Elena remarks.

"We may be able to arrange that. I'm hoping we'll be able to explore my island," I tell her, raising my eyes seductively before grabbing onto her arm and pulling her into a torrid kiss.

* * *

"Okay Elena, you can go on the smaller boat with Matt and Ric. Brady and I will be here waiting to go onto the cradle once you lure one in. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay with that," she says as I help her put her life jacket on since they'll be in a smaller boat. I hold onto her hand as she carefully takes step onto the boat as it sways with the tide. Ric extends his hand to help her in safely. Once she's in the other boat, Matt starts the engine and starts to pull away. I gesture to my hand held radio to make sure we can communicate with each other when they start to bring lure a shark towards us.

Approximately a half hour later, I hear a crackle on my radio. "We got one, we're about two miles away from you, get the cradle ready," Ric screams excitedly.

I watch the horizon and in a few minutes I see them coming towards us as they pull the shark along. Brady has the cradle ready just as they near our boat. Fortunately for us the shark swims onto the cradle on the first pass. That almost never happens. Quickly, Brady flicks the switch to raise the huge white shark out of the water.

Once it's safely onboard, we work quickly. Matt jumps onto the lift, covers its eyes and shoves the hose in its mouth to keep its gills aerated. Brady clips off the hook. I grab the drill and one of tags and affix it to the dorsal fin. We're a well oiled machine after several years of doing this together. We're done in mere minutes.

"Elena, do you want to touch it quickly before we let it go?" I ask, turning to face her as I pet the white shark myself.

"Um..."

"You have to decide now. We've got to get it back in the water."

Nodding, Brady offers her his hand so she can jump from the boat and onto the lift. She holds his hand tightly till he releases her to me. I take her hand in mine and together we pet the white shark. Her eyes are closed and lips are pulled into a grimace but she is doing it.

"Open your eyes," I whisper as I continue to stroke the shark with her hand.

Although she opens her eyes, they're as wide as saucers. When her hand starts to shake uncontrollably, I pull it away from the shark. "It's okay. Get on the deck, we're going to release it now," I tell her, giving her a little nudge towards Caroline.

Once all of us are off the cradle, we lower it quickly, clapping loudly when our great white shark swims off.

* * *

Yawning widely, I cover my mouth with one hand while opening our bedroom door with my other hand. Elena is still on deck with everyone else going over tomorrow's plans. Ric, Matt, Brady and Caroline are going to stay on this boat while Elena and I will be in the smaller one. My hope is that we can find some place to make landfall on 'my' island.

I sit down on the edge of the bed, dropping my face in my hands. I'm just exhausted for some reason. Sucking in a deep breath, I get up and go into the bathroom to get cleaned up for bed. Once I'm done in the shower, I slip on a clean pair of boxer briefs before walking to the bed. Seeing as how Elena is still up top, I drop onto the bedside, take my leg off and crawl under the covers.

"Wha.. what?" I ask, lurching upright when I feel a hand massaging my belly.

"It's Elena, are you okay?"

The room is pitch dark so I can barely make out her facial features. Placing my hand atop hers, I give her a kiss on the lips.

"I'm fine. I was dreaming."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks.

"Every now and then I still dream about the day I lost my leg," I tell her, reaching up to wipe the sweat off of my brow.

"Lay on your stomach. I'll give you a back rub."

"You sure?" I ask. When I see her nodding I flip so I'm laying prone on the bed, laying my head on my crossed arms.

After she straddles my waist, I feel a cold dollop of lotion plop onto my lower back. Then I feel her hands as they massage my muscles into compliance causing a moan escape my mouth.

"Your muscles are so tight, Damon. Just relax okay?"

"I'm trying but it's hard with you sitting right there," I whisper when she rubs the palm of her hand down the crease of my behind.

"Careful Elena," I whisper, biting on my lower lip when I feel my dick twitch.

"What if I don't want to be careful?" she asks, laying on top of my back as she whispers in my ear before sucking my ear lobe into her warm cavernous mouth. Rolling my eyes as lust seizes my body, I raise my hips to test the waters. She rolls off and pulls me towards her. Now it's me who's one top as I push my lips against hers firmly, hoping to convey everything that I feel inside for her.

I stiffen for millisecond when she reaches between us and takes a hold of me. Stroking and squeezing she has me in a frenzy in no time at all. When she lowers her body and takes me inside her hot moist mouth, my eyes fall back into my head as I pant in need. When she takes me in far enough to touch the back of her throat, I lose it, erupting like a teenager.

"I'm sorry Elena, I didn't have any warning. It was that spectacular," I breathe, pulling her into my arms to kiss her beautiful face.

"It's okay. I like it that I made you lose control like that," she whispers. I can almost see as her cheeks bloom a bright red color. I roll her underneath me again and bite onto her nipple through the flimsy tee shirt that she's wearing. I nip and suckle one and then the other while using my fingers to tease the neglected one. When I try to take off the tee shirt, she shakes her head no.

"Do you want to stop?" I ask, hoping the answer is no but I won't ever force myself on her or any woman for that matter.

"No, I just don't want to take it off," she says, turning her face away.

"It's okay," I whisper, capturing her lips in another scorching kiss.

This time it's me who reaches between us to find her lady parts moist and wanting.

"Are you absolutely sure?" I ask.

"I'm sure."

Feeling my jeans on the floor beside my bed, I reach into the pocket, grabbing my wallet to pull out my 'emergency' condom. I always have one on me just in case. After using my teeth to open the packet, I hand it to her. She rolls it on me skillfully then pulls me on top of her, spreading her legs to make room for me.

Cradling her face with my palms, I lift another from her kiss swollen lips and push inside, joining us for the first time. Pulling our lips apart, I drop my forehead to meet with hers but never take my eyes from her as I push in and pull out. She raises her pelvis in tandem with my thrusts and soon I feel the tightening in my lower belly. Unable to keep my eyes on hers, I drop my head into the curve of her neck, nuzzling the soft skin there with my lips.

Wanting to make this good for her, I pull out then help her roll onto her hands and knees so I can push back in from behind. I can't even find the words to describe what this feels like with Elena. With the others, it's just been sex for mutual pleasure. There was nothing deeper there. But this, this is different and it's thrilling and scary and a world apart from the others. I speed up to chase my release while reaching down with my hand to the apex of her thighs to fondle and stroke her engorged bundle of nerves. When I feel her body start to convulse at the same time a cry of rapture escapes her lips, my orgasm rips through me with the force of twelve megaton bomb. We both collapse, completely boneless. My heart is still thundering against my rib cage when I pull her into my arms, lifting a torrid kiss from her lips.

When I finally have the strength to roll onto my back, I pull her close so she's snuggled into the crook of my arm. I press a kiss to the crown of her head, whisper goodnight then close my eyes. As tired as I am, I can't stop thinking about this. Turning my gaze to Elena, I lightly caress her back through the fabric of her tee shirt. I want whatever this is but I'm scared half to death too because I've never experienced something this profound before. It almost felt like we were one person as I could feel the electricity surging between us as I made love to her. And then it hits me full force, the magnitude of what happened tonight. 'I. MADE. LOVE. TO. HER'.

With the others, it was just sex. But with Elena... I stare at the ceiling for a long time before I finally roll over and drift off to sleep.

* * *

 _And there you have it..._

 _Thank you Eva for everything my friend. Thanks to all of you for indulging my love of sharks with this story. I appreciate and thank you for your reviews and interest in this story._

 _Chapter title: 'If She Knew What She Wants' by 'The Bangles'._

 _I will be updating 'What if I Was Nothing' and 'Rainy Days and Mondays' over the weekend. Please give those a look._

 _Please remember to hit that review button._ _And as always, have a safe and lovely weekend. Thank you again. Until next week..._


	11. Surrender

_#DelenaisEternal_

* * *

When my cell phone alarms softly, I reach over and turn it off because I don't want to wake Elena up yet. Covering my eyes with my forearm, my thoughts return to what happened between us last night. After going as far as we did, I don't understand why she wouldn't take her shirt off to let me see her breasts? I know, for whatever reason, she has issues related to her body image. What darkness is she hiding from me? Did some jackass hurt her physically or emotionally or perhaps both? She's completely beautiful and it's not just on the outside, it's what's inside of her too that beautiful beyond words. I hope she can learn to trust me enough to share her fears with me. Until then, I'll just have to be as supportive of her and not force her into doing something that clearly makes her uncomfortable.

When I feel Elena starts to stir, I very softly caress her back in hopes that she'll sleep a little while yet. When I hear the name ' _Elijah_ ' escape her lips, I stop what I'm doing and carefully get out of bed. Trying to be really cautious so as not to wake her, I gingerly sit up, put my leg on and go into the bathroom.

After turning on the shower head, I sit down on the toilet to take my leg off. Once I do, I grab hold of the safety bars so I can get myself into the stall. Pressing my palms against the shower stall, I struggle to maintain my balance because my head is spinning with everything Elena. Honestly, I have a hard time believing that she's the type of girl who would use me to fulfill a need when her heart belongs to someone else but...

Despite that, my gut twists knowing she whispered his name after being with me just hours earlier. Shaking my head at myself, I carefully step out of the shower, sitting on the toilet seat as I dry myself off. After pulling my shorts on, I affix my prosthetic to my stump and walk out of the bathroom just as she opens her eyes.

"Morning," she utters, stretching her arms over her head.

"Morning," I reply tersely. I look at her for a moment, watching as her smile fades.

"Is something wrong?" she asks, her eyes confused.

"Nope," I reply then get up and walk out of our room.

* * *

Ric and I go down into the shark cage this time. The water is crystal clear today. I can see quite a distance. I grab Ric's arm when I see a big ray soaring through the water. Since the depth of the ocean is deep here, I see nothing but water when I look below. I can't help but smile when I see all the marine life swimming around even as I keep my eyes peeled for a shark. It feels like my eyes widen to the size of saucers when a whale shark appears. Elbowing Ric to get his attention I point to it as it swims closer. They're huge and beautiful and I've only seen them a couple of times. It swims around in our line of sight for several long minutes before finally swimming away.

Ric gives me a thumbs up as we watch it disappear. As we're focused on the whale shark, we startle when the cage jars. My heart stops when I turn around and find myself staring right into the black eyes of a great white shark. It's so close I can touch it and so I do. It continues circling the area for quite awhile. Because our oxygen tanks are running low, we're going to have to chance it.

Using my thumbs, I give Ric the signal to go up but he shakes his head no motioning for me to go up first. I stare at him for a few seconds then nod and begin swimming up and out of the cage. When I see the dorsal fin break the water, I swim as quickly as I can till I'm at the side of the boat, I grab ahold of the ladder and pull myself up. Fortunately Ric is right behind and we both make it back on the boat safely. Raising my palm I give him a high five before he pulls me into a guy hug.

"That was close," Ric mentions, shaking his head.

"Talk about an adrenaline rush!" I add, laughing.

"Obviously you guys are okay?" Matt mentions giving my shoulder a squeeze.

"Don't scare me like that again, little brother," he scolds, playfully chastising me.

"It was either chance it or drown," I tell him matter of factly. With a shudder, he shakes his head at me comically and walks back to help Brady bring up our shark cage. A chill runs through me as the adrenaline starts to wane. I sit down to take off my wet suit. I can't help but notice Elena staring at me from the corner of my eye. Brushing it off, I take off my swim leg and put the correct one on. Since I don't want to get burnt to a crisp, I walk to the stairs to go below and get a tee shirt.

Once I get back on deck, Elena rushes past me to go downstairs. I suppose I should talk to her but I'm still feeling the sting of her saying another man's name. I don't want to yell or act like a child so it's just best that I keep my distance for now. A big part of me thinks she's nowhere near emotionally ready to be in a relationship. I shouldn't have pursued a relationship with her till I got to know her better.

When I'm ready, I'll talk to her about ending it before anymore feelings are hurt. She's going to be with my group for a several more weeks. We have to work together and I don't want either of us to feel uncomfortable around each other. Once the summer is over, we can go our separate ways without any hard feelings. That's my hope at least.

Yet seeing her run away like that hurts inside too. I know I've never felt such a connection with any other woman. No one has completely discombobulated me the way she has either. I'm at a loss as to what to do. Shaking my head, I walk over to Matt.

"Do you want to take the little boat and see if there's anyway we can make landfall on the island?"

"Sure, why don't you take Ric or Brady with you? I think one of us should stay with the girls, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," I reply. Nodding, I walk over to those two to see if one or both of them want to go with me.

"I think you should take Elena," Matt adds as he steps beside me. "She's supposed to be learning the ropes."

"She went down below. I'll go get her."

"We'll make sure the boat is ready. Hop to it," Ric adds, nudging me forward.

Sighing, I go below to find her. Knocking on our door, I wait till she says 'come in' before opening the door.

"Hey. Um.. Are you okay? I mean, I saw you run down the stairs like gangbusters."

"I'm fine. I just got a little sea sick. I used to have to take 'Dramamine' if we went on long car rides. I should've gone to the drugstore to buy some more before we left San Diego. I ran out of them yesterday," she explains. Looking at me curiously, she continues, "Did you want something?"

"Um.. yeah. We're going to take the smaller boat so we can go and scout the island I told you about. I thought you should go along unless you're sea sick that is?"

"No, I want to come. Just let me brush my teeth and use the bathroom first, okay?"

"Sure. I'll wait up top for you," I reply, meeting her eyes before turning around and walking out of the room.

* * *

Once Elena gets back up, I offer her my hand to help her into the smaller boat safely. Everyone is on board already when I get in. Caroline is staying on the boat with Matt and Brady. They are going to follow us but they'll have to stay in deeper water so our big craft doesn't get hung up on the jagged rocks. Ric is coming along with Elena and me in the smaller boat. After giving my brother a one armed hug, I get in just as Ric is firing up the engine.

We skim over the surface of the ocean heading to the island's coordinates. Fortunately Ric loaded our scuba gear so we can do a little diving if the sea isn't too rough. Scanning the ocean behind me, I see that Matt is doing a good job keeping close to us. A good hour later, the cliffs on the island appear on the horizon.

"Over there," I say to Elena, pointing straight ahead.

"Wow, it's really lush and green," she says, standing up to get a better look.

"Be careful, I don't want you to fall overboard. I don't even know your next of kin?" I tease although I am serious. I don't know that I could ever forgive myself if something were to happen to her.

"I just have an older brother. He lives near Puget Sound in Washington state," she reveals.

"You never told me that?"

"You never asked," she says nonchalantly.

"Don't be like that," I pout, pulling her into my arms. I swore I wasn't going to till we talked but I just can't help myself. I want to touch her and to hold her and to make love to her again. Still I do need to bite the bullet and have a word with her sooner rather than later. I don't want something that's probably completely innocent to split us apart before we even have a chance to make something worthwhile.

As we get closer to the island, the sea becomes more choppy and almost violent as the waves start to crash against the sides of the boat, tossing us around as if it's nothing more than a toy. I get on my walkie talkie and tell Matt to stay back because it's just too dangerous. The wind and the now dark clouds are stirring the sea up even more so Ric turns us around to head back to sea towards Brady, Matt and Caroline so we can find a safe place to dock the boat till the storm passes.

Suddenly Elena is white knuckling the boats edge as she heaves violently into the water. Immediately I go to her, pulling her hair out of the way. I rub the back of her neck till she collapses on one of the seats. When she drops her head between her knees as the drive heaves continue, I know she's terribly sea sick. Since it's already got holes in, I take off my tee shirt and stick in the water to get it wet. After wringing it out, I gently place it on the back of her neck.

Raising her head momentarily, she looks at me, whispering thank you before resuming her previous position. It takes us about an hour to catch up to Matt and Caroline. After Ric tosses him a rope, he uses his mastery of knot skills and ties us onto the bigger boat. I help Elena to stand up first. She sways a little and the sea remains rough. Just as we all get into the other boat, a crack of thunder roars at the same time the sky opens up and rain begins to pour down.

"Are you dizzy?" I yell, as I'm practically supporting all of her weight. She's still green and pale when she nods slightly. I help her down the stairs and into the bathroom so she can get some dry clothes on. I run a hot shower for her as she's shivering.

"Do you want me to help you?" I ask her, full of concern.

"No, I can do it myself," she says as she drops onto the toilet to take her shoes off.

"I'm going to go back on deck to help get everything secured. I'll be back when we're done."

"Okay. Thank you," she says softly.

"You're welcome," I tell her, press a kiss to the top of her head than step out of the bathroom.

* * *

Brady and I stay up top to help steer us through the storm. After several harrowing hours, we pull into port in Cabo San Lucas. It's a beautiful resort town. I'm certain Elena will be able to get her sea sick pills at a drug store here. Once we secure the boat at a dock and after paying the dock fees, we're all exhausted. Yawning deeply, I tell Brady goodnight and then go below deck to check on Elena. She's sound asleep by the time I get back to her.

Feeling as wiped out as she did earlier, I shed my clothes except for my boxers and slide into bed alongside her. Unable to keep my eyes open, I snuggle in next Elena, wrap an arm around her middle and close my dreary eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Since we're in Cabo, far be it from me to miss out on a chance to do some clubbing. With our boats secure in the marina, the six of us take off for the beach. Elena wanted to do a little shopping at some of the little shops and cabanas. She wants to find something for her brother and for a couple of friends of hers.

"That is really pretty," she mentions when she points to a mother of pearl pendant.

"It's very pretty," I tell her, putting an arm around her neck. I pull her towards me and press a kiss to her temple.

"Mam," I speak, trying to get the clerk's attention. "Can you box up that pendant?" I ask, pointing to the one that Elena has her eye on.

"Damon, no. You don't have to." she protests.

"I know I don't have to, I want to," I tell her, letting her go to pull out my wallet and pay for the piece. Rather than box it up, I have her turn around. She lifts up her hair so I can slip it around her neck. I kiss the back of her neck and then secure the clasp of the necklace. She drops her hair, turning back around.

"It's perfect. Thank you," she tells me, wrapping her arms around my neck to give me a hug. Brady and Ric decided to hit the bar early while Matt and I tagged along with Elena and Caroline till they had their fill of shopping. She bought herself a cute little yellow sundress that I can't wait to see her in and a couple more pieces of jewelry. The way she and Caroline would squeal every time they found something they wanted, I'm surprised that my hearing is still intact. We walk back to the boats to let the girls change clothes and stow their packages so we didn't have to carry them into the bar with us.

"As if it wasn't obvious, the two of you look lovely," I remark, earning a kiss from both.

"Where's mine?" Matt asks, joking. Caroline plants a torrid kiss to his lips while Elena gives him a light hug. Once we're done swooning over each other, we take off to join Ric and Brady. Once we get to 'Baja Cantina', we walk inside. There's quite a crowd but somehow we work our way through without too much trouble. I finally see Brady waving his arm. When we get to the table, I'm surprised to see that Bonnie and Jenna are here. Then I remember that Ric mentioned that the two of them were going to fly down here to spend the weekend with us. Since we're a day late arriving in Cabo, the guys will probably only get tonight to spend with them.

"Hi guys," Bonnie greets us when we finally get to the table. Fortunately, the booth is big enough to seat eight people.

"Hey Bonnie, Jenna. I forgot that you planned to join us. I'm sorry we were late arriving. We ran into quite a storm yesterday," I tell them, while turning my head to signal to barmaid to bring us some drinks.

After placing our orders, she brings over a pitcher of margarita's and some salt-rimmed glasses. "To successfully breaching you know where," I say, raising my glass to clink with the others.

"I really like the variety of margaritas they have here. I would never have thought of a watermelon one," Elena mentions, tipping the glass to her mouth to take another swallow.

"I like the mango ones myself," I tell her, tilting my glass back to take another sip. Needing to use the bathroom, I stand up and walk back to the men's room. I go in and do my business and come back out. I walk up to the bar to ask for another couple of pitchers of the flavored margaritas. As I'm standing there waiting, someone bumps into me hard, sending me into the edge of the bar. I slam into it so hard, I get the wind knocked out of me. Shaking off the stupor, I turn around to see who crashed into me.

My jaw drops when I see that it's Nick with Jules hanging on his arm.

"What the hell, Nick?" I ask, ready to throw a punch.

Smiling like the Cheshire cat, he chortles, "It was an accident, mate."

"I bet it was," I seethe, pulling my arm back, ready to give him a knuckle sandwich.

"Damon, stop," I hear Elena say as she walks over to me, Elijah behind her. I'm too stunned to say anything when I see her with him again, I turn around in an effort to keep my composure. If I don't, I'll say something to her that I don't mean.

"If it isn't the lovely Elena. How are you love?" Nick asks, goading me further.

"I'm fine Nick, now if you'll excuse me," she says, pushing him aside to stand by me.

"Ignore him, let's rejoin the others okay?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. After she gives Nick a disgruntled stare, she takes a hold of my hand.

I stare at her for a long moment before nodding. I lace my fingers with hers and together we walk back to the table to join our group. We have a few more drinks before deciding to call it a night. Ric and Brady go back to the hotel with Bonnie and Jenna while the rest of us go back to the boat.

Feeling the buzz of the alcohol, I pull her into my arms, stoop over slightly and press a languid kiss to her luscious lips. I let go and go into the bathroom to put my sleep shorts on. When I get out, Elena, although still in her clothes, is sound asleep. Shaking my head, I take off her shoes and maneuver her enough so I can cover her up. A big yawn escapes my mouth too so I climb in the other side of the bed, roll onto my left side and close my eyes. Although I'm tired too, my mind is restless wondering what the odds are of finding Elijah in the same bar that we went too? I lay there thinking about it and how he's connected to Elena for a long time. Finally I close my eyes as the lapping of the water against the boat lulls me to sleep.

* * *

 _Thank you so much Eva. I love and appreciate you so much. Today is my youngest son's birthday.. They grow up much too fast.. Thanks to all of you for your reviews. They always put a smile on my face._

 _Title: 'Surrender' by 'Cheap Trick' (Love them)_

 _I will be updating 'What if I Was Nothing' and 'Rainy Days and Mondays' over the weekend. Please do give those a look see. I'm very proud of both of those stories._

 _Remember to click that review button. I'll keep writing as long as there are people around to read. I don't want the DE fandom to fade away. I don't want to say goodbye to them._

 _As always, stay safe and have a fun weekend. Again I thank you for supporting my stories. Love you all. Until next time._


	12. Ship to Wreck

By the time I wake up the next morning, the sun is just beginning to stream through the blinds. Rolling onto my back, I smile when I see that Elena is curled up into a little ball, almost as if she's cold. Reaching for the heavier blanket at the foot of the bed, I pull it up to cover her. When I drop my head back onto the pillow, I can't help but think about what Nick and Elijah were doing at the cantina last night. The odds of them being at the same joint that we went to is too great to believe it was just coincidence? Also there is the fact that Elena was standing side by side with Elijah when they approached me at the bar last evening.

My brain is swirling with all manner of conspiracy theory. I still have to believe that she wouldn't be with me if she didn't want to be. I've barely scratched the surface of what's inside that pretty little head of hers. All I want is for her to confide in me. What is her relationship with the Mikaelson's and why does she keep it so tight to the vest? I've never felt this way about any other woman before. If I'm being honest with myself, I think I'm on the cusp of falling in love with her but I'm scared when she keeps so much of herself hidden.

Without giving it much more thought, I press a kiss to the crown of her head. Closing my eyes, I revel in the feeling of having her in my arms. My eyes fly open at the same time a gasp escapes my lips when I feel her little hand wrap itself around my manhood. She's seems more confident in her abilities as she tightens her grasp with each stroke up and down the length of me. In seconds, my hips are raising of their own accord. My eyes roll to the back of my head, when I feel her run the tip of her tongue into the slit.

"Oh dear Lord, Elena," I pant, fisting my hand in her hair as continues giving my body the tender loving care it seems only she can do. When she takes me into that warm moist mouth of hers, I nearly lose it then and there. Not wanting to erupt inside her mouth, I summon every ounce of strength I own, free her from my length and pull her on top of me. With a wink and smirk, she swats my arms away and lowers herself, enveloping me inside of her. Knowing it's risky, I reach for the hem of her tee shirt. Shaking her head no, she stops what she's doing to pry my hands from it. Not wanting to push her into something she's clearly uncomfortable with, I drop my hands to my sides and let her take complete control.

Pressing her palms flat against my chest, she uses them to raise and lower herself with exact precision because it takes no time at all for me to start writhing beneath her. My pelvis moves of its own accord rising and falling in tandem with her body. I groan when I feel the familiar tightening in my lower belly. When she throws her head back while at the same time, she shimmies her body, changing my position a bit. Just as I'm about to erupt, I reach between us to stroke her little bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs. And when she focuses her blazing eyes on mine, it's then that I climax, reaching nirvana at warp speed as flecks of gold and blinding white light flash behind my eyelids. She collapses onto my chest causing me to feel her body quiver and shudder as she slowly wafts back down to earth, joining me in the blissful afterglow.

When I can feel my body again, I reach my arms around her to caress her back while pressing soft kisses to the crown of her head. Although I'd prefer to stay like this all day long, I know that we need to get up. We're going to try to make landfall on my island again. Hopefully the weather will cooperate today. We have a camera on board, much like the one that Dr. Ballard used to locate 'Titanic' in 1985. Technology has improved so much since then. I'm hoping against hope that we'll see some more of the Frilled sharks. If this is a breeding ground for them, it'll strengthen my case to get the place declared a preserve so it can be protected.

"Sweetheart, as much as I hate to get up, we have to."

"Can't we just lay like this for five minutes?" she asks, her voice husky sounding in the aftermath.

"Five minutes?"

"Please," she whispers, pressing a kiss to my chest. Tightening my hold on her, we just lay together quietly as the clock ticks..

* * *

"Is everything ready to give this another go?" I ask. Today Matt is coming with Elena and I to try to breach the shoreline. Fortunately the sky is a robin's egg blue hue with nary a cloud in sight. The ocean is lapping our boat with just a gentle lull. After putting our life jackets on, we get on the boat and speed away. Ric, Brady and Caroline are following behind. They'll come as close as they can without endangering the craft. They will use the camera because they have the equipment on board to operate it.

It dawns on me that we could've stayed aboard the big boat till it got as close as it could and then take the smaller boat to the island. Unfortunately patience isn't my best virtue so here we are, skimming over the water, the light breeze messing up my hair. Elena has hers braided in a pony tail behind her back. I'm quite taken with her that I barely hear my brother when he says my name.

"Damon?"

"Sorry, my mind was elsewhere," I chuckle. He knows who I'm talking about because he smirks wisely.

"Using my own weapons against me, brother? I see how it is." I chuckle, shaking my head when he laughs with me.

"Matt, I think we're going to make it to shore this time. Did we remember to bring the camera? We might find some rare plant life, flowers?" I ask, shrugging my shoulders.

"I have the camera. Turn that way," he says pointing. "It's too rocky here to go straight in." So I do, I turn the boat to skim around it. My eyes widening when I spot a cove that is just waiting for us to land there.

"Matt, right there," I yell excitedly.

"Take it in," he tells me.

"We're actually going to land?" Elena squeals, clapping her hands. I can't help but smile when I see how giddy her face is. She's absolutely glowing with excitement. Skillfully, I maneuver our boat through the water slowing down as we get close. When we're in about four feet of water, I cut the engine. Matt and I jump out to pull it the rest of the way to shore. I take Elena's hand so she can step out of the boat and onto the beautiful sandy beach. I laugh when she takes off her shoes, curling her toes in the warm sand.

"Let's go explore, shall we?" I ask, giving Matt a pat on his shoulder.

"Lead the way, brother," he replies, gesturing a forward motion with his arm. Taking Elena's hand in mine, I nod and start venturing into the grove of palm trees and other vegetation. Matt starts snapping away with the camera as we continue meandering through the greenery.

"Damon, look at that," Elena squeals, running over to a beautiful, bright yellow flower. "Matt take a picture," she says, her smile infectious.

"Stand beside her Damon." When I do he snaps a picture of the two of us. She turns to face me, stands on her tip toes, lifting a kiss from my lips. Lost in the feeling of her lips molding to my own, I deepen the kiss, pulling away when I hear the click of Matt's camera.

"Gotcha," he smirks. He starts laughing when I roll my eyes at him. The three of us then continue our adventure. When I see a large spider, I pull Elena back. I have no idea if it's venomous or not. I point it out and tell Matt to get a shot of it. The foliage is starting to get pretty thick so I suggest we turn around before we get lost in here since none of us are carrying a compass.

Just as we get back to the beach, I hear the crackle of our satellite phone.

"Hello?"

"Damon!"

"What is it, Brady?" I ask.

"We've been filming two Frilled sharks at a depth of five thousand feet he tells me, his voice full of enthusiasm.

"I can't wait to see the footage. We're heading back to the boat now. We want to get back before the sun goes down," I answer, giddy in anticipation myself.

"See you in a bit, boss," he replies, clicking off the phone. After putting it back in my pocket, we finish walking back to the boat. Matt gives Elena a hand to get back in then he and I push it out to deep enough water to start the motor. Once the two of us get in, Matt maneuvers the boat out into the open ocean again. My mind is so focused on the plethora of photos that Matt took, I almost miss the gasp that escapes Elena's mouth.

"What is it?" I ask her. While one hand covers her mouth, the other points at a boat that's not too distant from ours. My mouth drops when I see a dead white shark hanging upside suspended by a winch. Anger fills my senses immediately. I reach under Elena's seat and pull out a box to grab a hold of my binoculars. I'm hardly surprised when I see the name on the boat. ' _Mikaelson Fishing: The Esther Sue'_

"Nick!" I seethe, squeezing the binoculars so tightly in my hands that my knuckles are white.

"Nick kills sharks?" Elena asks, looking completely shocked.

"Obviously," I snap back. "I hope he didn't see us leave the island. He'll have his customers killing the sharks just for sport and to have a trophy on their wall."

"Who would mount a great white? They're too big," Elena asks, looking confused.

"They probably just want the jaws," I tell her, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just get so angry when I see the carnage."

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it. I had no idea that Nick took part in shark slaughter. Elijah has never mentioned it either," she explains, her voice waning as she turns away from me.

* * *

"Let's get back to the boat. There's nothing we can do about it right now," Matt adds, always the voice of reason. I pick up the camera again to look at the pictures but all I can think about is that dead shark and how, if ever I'm going to stop Nick.

By the time we get back to the boat the sun is beginning to set on the horizon. Putting Nick aside for a moment, Ric shows me the footage of the frilled sharks that they captured on film. They're scary looking with their razor sharp teeth. They don't have the commanding presence of a white shark but scary nonetheless. We show them the pictures Matt took and everyone is beyond excited.

Brady charts a course to take us back to San Diego so we can catch a flight and fly home from there. I'm anxious to share all we've learned with Walter. After we throw together a little supper, we all decide to go back to our rooms for the night. I'm completely exhausted as the surge of adrenaline from earlier has waned considerably. Exhaling heavily, I go into the bathroom so I can take a shower. Dropping down on the toilet seat so I can take my leg off, I have to pause for a moment as I yawn deeply. Once I take my leg off, I get into the shower, bracing myself against the stall so I don't tip over. All these years later, I'm able to balance pretty well but with the sway of the ocean and the water crashing against the boat, I'm a bit unsteady.

After turning on the water, I just relax letting it pound over my tired muscles. I'm so tired, I don't even hear the door open and close till I hear a whistle. Pulling back the curtain, I see Elena standing there with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Like what you see?" I tease.

"I absolutely do."

"You can join me if you'd like?" I ask, pulling the shower curtain open farther. I don't miss the frown on her face that she quickly covers when she shakes her no.

"I'm really tired. I'll wait for you in bed," she adds, stepping out of the bathroom. I shake my head in dismay then finish washing myself. Once I get on a clean pair of boxers, I get into bed. She's already asleep so I pull the covers over myself and turn my back to her. I lay there a long time before finally deciding to take a couple of Advil to see if that will help. My stump is kind of achy tonight after walking on the sand and the island's terrain all day. I raise up on my elbow and use my other arm to reach them. Popping a couple in my mouth, I toss it back on the floor next to my bed and take a swallow from my water bottle. Laying back down, I turn to face her, pulling her close. After burying my face in her hair to breathe her in, my eyes grow heavy as I finally drift off to sleep.

* * *

 _Thank you Eva so much. Also thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. Fret not, Elena's big reveal is on the horizon... I'll let your reviews dictate whether I post it sooner rather than later...The next chapter is over 5000 words..._

 _Thank you all for your reviews and interest in this story. I really, really like sharks. They're just fascinating creatures. I hate that they're slaughtered by the millions. I can't even imagine the consequences of the ocean losing its apex predator._

 _Title: 'Ship to Wreck' by 'Florence and the Machine'._

 _Watch for 'Rainy Days and Mondays' and 'What if I Was Nothing' updates._

 _I'm hard at work trying to finish 'Tears in Heaven' so we can start posting it. The plot is complicated so it's not coming to me as easily as 'Rainy' did. As soon as I thought of the nurse Damon storyline, the chapters just flowed. I do try to make my stories unique so they're not just recycled stories that have been done time and again. Like treasure hunters DE in 'Pieces of Eight', 'Forensic artist Elena in 'Shatter Me'. I don't know of any stories dealing with the aftermath of a child's kidnapping as in 'What if I Was Nothing'. or RN Damon as in 'Rainy Days & Mondays'. Shark biologist Damon in this story. I won't ever make Damon damaged by a cheating ex. That's been done a zillion times already. _

_Thanks for listening. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Please remember to hit that review button if you want the next chapter sooner..._


	13. Everybody Hurts

_You guys really stepped up and gave me 11 reviews for the last chapter. Please keep it up. And as a thank you, here's chapter thirteen._

* * *

It feels good be home again. It's a little past midnight when I walk into my house. We got to San Diego yesterday morning. We decided to spend the day at the San Diego Zoo Safari park. It's huge and we had a very good time. We all really enjoyed ourselves and loved viewing all of the animals. Although exhausted from out day at the park, the six of us did summon the strength to go out for a steak dinner before going back to our hotel. Unfortunately our flight had been laid over in Colorado because of bad storms which grounded flights for several hours. We were going stir-crazy waiting for the plane to finally reach San Diego. And that is why I'm not getting into my apartment till this late in the evening. I did walk Elena back to her apartment before coming back here. I would've spent the night with her had she asked but I think we both really wanted to sleep in our own beds so I'm not going to make a big deal out of it.

The next morning I wake up, taking a moment to stretch my limbs. After showering and dressing, I go into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. While it's percolating, I hurry outside to check my mailbox. I grab the letters then go back inside, fill my cup and sit down at the table to go through my mail. Lost in writing checks to pay my bills, I don't hear my door open and close till I hear footsteps in the kitchen. Raising my eyes, I breathe a little easier when I see it's my brother and not some intruder.

"You startled me, Matt," I laugh.

Shrugging his shoulders, he looks at me "Sorry," then walks over to the cupboard to grab a mug and pour himself a cup of coffee.

"What cha doing?" he asks, the Salvatore smirk playing on his lips.

"Get your checkbook out and you can help me big brother, hint, hint," I add, raising my eyebrows.

"Where's Caroline?"

"I told her that she and Elena could have the day off. I guess I should've checked with you first because Elena is technically your protégé but I thought they could use some girl time. She and Elena are going shopping. Is that okay?" he asks. When I nod, he continues, "I told them that we were planning to put a proposal together for Walter. Ric and Brady are going to come over around noon. They're sleeping in with their girls."

"TMI. I don't want to know about their sex lives," I chuckle, shaking my head before turning my attention back to the task at hand. Once I have all the checks written and stamps licked, I get up and walk them out to the mailbox. Just as I'm about to walk back inside, I hear Ric yelling at me to wait for them.

"Hey guys. Come on in, Matt's already upstairs. I see you brought your briefcase with you. You certainly couldn't have sorted all that data overnight," I question Brady, looking skeptical as I follow them up the stairs as we walk to my apartment.

"No, of course not, Damon," he scoffs when we walk into my apartment. Setting his briefcase on the kitchen table, he grabs himself a cup of coffee after handing one to Ric. Before continuing, he takes a breath. "This all the data I downloaded from the boat. Plus we can track those sharks we tagged in real time. I wish we could tag one of those Frilled sharks you saw. Can you imagine the data we could collect. They swim at such depths," he says, a look of awe on his face.

"I wish so too. I don't see how we can. It's too deep to swim so I don't know how we can unless by some miracle we could catch one, tag it and let it go. The chances of that are slim to none too because as you said, they swim in the depths."

"I think we should get our data organized so we can talk to Walter about having it declared a preserve or sanctuary. I don't know if it's in US waters or not? If it isn't, it should be right on border. Hopefully Walter's contact in DC knows someone or some way to get the Mexican government on board if it's not?" I mention, as we look through what Brady has compiled on his laptop.

We spend the morning and the afternoon getting everything in order to meet with Walter the day after tomorrow. Once we're done for the day, I hand everyone a bottle of beer from the refrigerator. "Are we going out tonight?" I ask, tipping the bottle to my mouth.

"Nope," Caroline and I are staying in," Matt replies, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Matt's getting some action tonight," I tease, taking another sip of beer. "Either of you with me?" I ask, eyeing Ric and Brady.

"Not tonight buddy. I need to get a good night's sleep. I'm running on fumes as is," Brady replies. "Besides, Bonnie and I have plans as well," he says, raising his eyebrows, mimicking Matt's.

"Ric?"

Taking a big slog from his bottle, "Nope," he answers, wiping off his mouth.

"Be that way," I pout, polishing off my last swallow before tossing the empty bottle in the waste basket. By the time we share another few beers, it's late in the afternoon and the guys leave. I scrounge up some stuff to make myself some supper. Once everything is done cooking, I fix a plate full and go into the living room to watch a little TV. Putting my feet up, I start to scroll through the channels to see if anything interesting is on. I happen to love old movies and old Hollywood. When I find ' _The Philadelphia Story'_ with Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, I set the remote down and settle in to enjoy the movie.

When I hear my phone ring, I pick it up, smiling when I see that it's Elena. "Hey pretty lady."

"Hey," she replies. I can tell by the tone of her voice that she's happy. "How did things go today? Did you get your presentation in order?"

"We did. We're all, you included by the way, are going to meet with Walter Thornhill on Wednesday to go over it with him."

"That sounds exciting," she says hesitantly. "Um, what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm watching an old Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn movie."

"I love old movies. ' _Gone With The Wind'_ and _'Casablanca'_ are my favorites."

"I like Bogart too. ' _The Big Sleep'_ and _'Casablanca'_ are the ones I like the best," I tell her, getting up to get myself something to drink from the refrigerator.

"You can come over and watch it with me if you'd like?"

"I would love that Damon but I'm so tired after running after Caroline all day. Rain check?"

"Of course, you get some sleep. Do you need a ride to work in the morning?"

"I'd like that. Listen, I'm going to jump in the bathtub and crawl in bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll pick you up around eight. Goodnight Elena," I tell her softly, pressing a kiss to the receiver so she can hear it.

"Caught it," she teases, before I hear a kiss on my end.

Ending the call, I tell her softly, "I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight." I pause the movie to get up and make some popcorn. Once I'm done, I drop back onto the couch, hit the play button on the DVR and settle down to enjoy the movie.

* * *

When the alarm sounds at six o'clock, I lay there for a moment to get my bearings. Sitting up at the bedside, I just sit there for a minute, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Sighing heavily, I get up, take a shower and go to get a cup of coffee. Thank goodness I remembered to set the timer on my coffee pot. While I'm waiting to go to pick up Elena, I turn on my computer to look over my emails and check on today's news. Lost in thought, I'm surprised to see it's a few minutes after seven by the time I look at the clock again. After putting my cup in the sink, I grab my valise and walk over to Elena's apartment complex. Once she buzzes me inside, I get in the elevator to go to her floor.

When I get to her doorway, I raise my hand and push the doorbell. My eyes widen considerably when a man opens the door. My mouth opens and closes for a second before finally speaking.

"Elena buzzed me in. I'm here to pick her up for work," I explain to whoever this guy is. He doesn't say anything to me, just looks bored when he steps aside and gestures for me to walk through the door. Not seeing Elena, I stand there, not knowing what else to do.

"Jer, was that the door?" I hear her voice ask.

"Yeah, there's some guy here. Says he's here to pick you up," the guy answers her, giving me the 'once over' with his eyes.

"I could drop you off you know?" he tells her, eyeing me suspiciously. Stunned into silence, I just lower my eyes.

"Damon, good morning," she says when she finally makes her appearance. Walking over to me, she presses a kiss to my cheek.

"I just need to grab my bag then we can go."

"Okay, I'll just wait downstairs by my car," I answer, anxious to get out of here.

"Nonsense," she says. "I'd like you to meet my brother, Jeremy. Jeremy this is Damon," she says, giving Jeremy a little shove towards me.

"Your brother?" I ask, feeling relieved inside.

"Yes, he showed up quite unexpectantly last night. Do you mind if he goes to the shop with us today? I'd like to show him what we're doing."

"Sure, if that's what you want," I add, conceding to her request.

"I'm ready then, let's go," she says, reaching for my hand. I can't escape the dirty look he gives me again when we walk outside. After holding the door open so she can slide in, I go around to the driver's side and hop in myself.

"Jeremy, do you want to ride in front?" Elena asks him, not bothering to see if it's okay with me.

"No, it's fine," he says. I can see him staring at me through the rearview mirror. Not able to do anything about it, I put the car in gear and drive to work.

* * *

When we arrive at the place, I tell Elena and Jeremy to go inside while I run down to the where our boats are docked. I'm going to take Elena out for a spin around the Farallon Islands to see if we can see any sharks or other sea life. I'm anxious to smell the salty sea air up close and personal. Gosh, I love living here, I think to myself. I love watching the sunset over the Pacific as it paints the sky a brilliant rainbow of colors. I love the feel of the sand between my toes. I even love collecting sand dollars, sea shells and driftwood. After making sure the boat is gassed up, I go back inside to get Elena.

"Ric, do you mind showing Jeremy around?" I ask him because I want to be alone with my girl for a little while.

"Yeah sure, where are you going to be?"

"Elena and I are going out on the water a little while," I tell him with a scandalous wink.. Shaking his head just slightly so Jeremy doesn't notice, he rolls his eyes.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he whispers, giving me a smirk as he walks past me and over to Jeremy.

"Come on Jeremy, I'll give you a tour," he tells him while mouthing 'you owe me one' to me.

As soon as Elena comes out of the bathroom, I pick up one of our satellite phones, grab her hand and pull her down to the docks. Unable to help myself, I pull her into a languid kiss. "I've been wanting to do that since I said goodbye to you yesterday," I tell her, pressing one more to the tip of her nose before helping her into the boat. After handing her a life jacket and slipping one on myself, I get in, turn on the motor and drive us towards the open ocean.

We skim around the island, pull up to one of them to view the seals. We keep our distance because after all they are wild animals. Elena takes several pictures and we hike amongst the rocks on an empty area of the beach. She hands me sea shells and pretty rocks and beach glass to carry for her. When I see that it's starting to get a little cloudy, I hurry her along so we can start back to the mainland.

We get back in our boat and I push the boat out a little ways before hopping in as best I can and starting the engine. It's chokes out a couple of times before finally roaring to life. I take the control and speed us across the water, hoping to get home before it rains. The sea really isn't too rough thank goodness. When the engine starts making a sputtering noise, I slow it down but it doesn't seem to help as the engine suddenly stops. I can see that she's anxious but I tell her not to worry. I did tell Mark, one of our maintenance people to fill the engine before we left. When I look at the gas gauge, I notice that it is still over half full so I don't know what's the matter. I wait for a couple of minutes before trying to start it again. I'm so involved in checking the wires and anything else that may be the matter, that I'm lost in my own little world till I hear a fearful scream and feel a shaky hand grasp onto my forearm.

"Elena? What is it? What's wrong?" I ask, looking at her. Her eyes are fixed ahead of us and that's when I see why she's so afraid suddenly. A dorsal and tail fin have broken the water and are heading towards us.

"Relax Elena, we're okay." I say softly, trying to reassure her. I stand up cautiously to try to get a little closer to her when suddenly the boat lurches precipitously launching me backwards into the ocean. When I get back to the surface, I'm alarmed to see that I'm about six feet away from the boat with what looks like a white shark honing in on me. I start to swim back towards the boat as quickly as I can given I don't have my swim leg on. Elena looks to be completely panicked, her fist is in her mouth, her eyes frozen wide in terror. Just as I reach the boat, the shark brushes up against me hard, slamming me hard against the side of the boat. I grimace tightly at the same time I put my hands on the side of the boat to try to pull myself in.

"Elena, help me," I ask, looking from side to side, looking for any sign of where the shark is now. I don't see either fin so it's under the water which makes it more dangerous for me.

"E.L.E.N.A.," I yell, hoping to break whatever trance she's in. Finally she looks towards me and jumps over, grabbing onto me to pull me back on board. When she sees the blood staining my white tee shirt, she screams.

"Elena, Elena, calm down. It didn't bite me, I'm okay," I tell her, pulling her shaking body into my arms.

"You're okay?" she asks, her eyes still wide in stark fear. "But there's blo...blo..blood," she screams.

I look at my side, seeing a wide gash from slamming into the boat when it bumped me and the other side is raw from the shark's skin. Seeing that Elena is in a panic, I try to calm her down. "Their skin is very sharp and abrasive. It brushed up against me pushing me into the boat. I couldn't swim away from it fast enough but I'll be okay. I promise," I tell her. Shaking her head up and down quickly as if still in shock, she slowly raises my tee shirt up to see for herself. I'm bleeding profusely. Swallowing thickly, she takes off her tee shirt and presses it up against my side. Grimacing in pain, I explain to her that shark skin is covered with overlapping, spiny scales that are termed dermal denticles because of their structural similarity to teeth. These denticles have a plate-like base supporting a main body composed of dentine with an enameloid capping and a central pulp cavity. The denticles function to protect the shark and to reduce frictional drag. The apex of the denticles points toward the tail which is why a shark feels relatively smooth when stroked from head to tail, but rough with a sandpaper texture when stroked in the opposite direction.

"The satellite phone sweetheart, call Matt and tell him that we're dead in the water and we need help. She backs away from me curiously before picking it up. When she turns her body to look away from me, I gasp loudly when I see the scars on her midsection. The scars are unmistakable, she was the victim of a shark attack too. Closing my eyes for a moment to process everything, I now know why she's so afraid of them. Sucking in a breath because it really hurts, I push her tee shirt more firmly against my raw and gaping skin.

Not wanting to spook her or make her self conscious, I ask as gently as I can given the pain I'm in, "Elena, when?"

When she hears my voice, her pupils grow huge as she follows my line of sight down to her scar. Immediately she covers it with her hands. Not wanting to scare her anymore, I turn my gaze away from her scar.

"That's why you don't like sharks?" I ask, realization dawning on me. Without saying anything, she drops her eyes.

"Come here," I tell her, reaching for her hand. First she hands me the sat phone so I can call Matt.

"Damon?" I hear on the other end after I dial.

"Matt, the boat is dead in the water, we need help," I pant but pull Elena into my arms, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Damon, what's wrong?"

"Shark," I tell him, squeezing my eyes shut before handing the phone back to Elena, my eyes dropping closed for a minute.

"Matt, it's Damon.. shark. he's bleeding. We need help," she says frantically, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Elena honey, calm down. Can Damon talk to me?" I hear him ask her. Unable to speak, she hands me the phone.

"Damon, we can track your location through the phone. Do you have enough power left to leave it turned on?" he asks. After looking at the screen, I tell him we have about seventy five percent of the charge left.

I can hear the fear in his voice when he asks, "Did it bite you?"

"No, it brushed up against me. My side is raw and sliced open. Can you hurry? I'm bleeding badly and it hurts. Please Matt," I utter, clutching my side even harder.

"We're on our way. Keep the line open," he tells me and I hear a noise indicating that he set the phone down.

"I'll need to get a tetanus shot and have it cleaned up. I'll be fine. It just hurts. Please relax sweetheart," I pant, trying to get Elena to calm down a little.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, smiling sadly when I see the pain that fills her eyes.

"I was seventeen. Jeremy was nineteen and Tatiana was twenty four," she starts out, staring absentmindedly at her hands, red with my blood.

"Her fiance' took all of us to Hawaii to celebrate their engagement. It was a tiger shark," she adds, her voice barely a whisper, her breath coming out in gasps. Hoping to tamper her fear a little bit, I squeeze her even closer to me and rub down her back soothingly, momentarily letting her bloody tee shirt fall from my side.

Her lips start quivering as she struggles to tell me. "It bit both of us but she got the worst of it. By the time they got us out of the water, she had lost nearly all of her blood. She took her last breath just after they pulled us onto the shore. I've been terrified of them ever since," she blurts out, unconsciously rubbing over the half moon shaped scar in her mid section.

"I'm so sorry Elena. I can't even imagine the pain you were in. Is that why you're so self conscious about your body?" I ask, touching her scar gently with the fingertips of my left hand as my right is holding her tee shirt to my side, trying to get the bleeding to stop.

"Yes, it's ugly," she cries, tears still leaking from her eyes.

"It's not ugly Elena. Remember you told me that my stump was a symbol of my survival. Your scar is the same thing. Do you understand that It didn't attack me, it just brushed up really hard against me? They're not monsters sweetheart," I utter softly, pressing another kiss to her head.

Nodding, she stares at me until the lap of water against the boat rouses her from her thoughts. "How soon till Matt gets here?" she asks, looking out over the water.

"Soon." Holding her in my arms feels so good. I really hope I don't have to stay in the hospital for this. I close my eyes for a just a second to breathe her in but I open them quickly to scan the surface of the water, hoping the shark doesn't visit us again. Finally, I hear the roar of an engine and see a boat coming towards us but it's too far away to see if it's Matt yet. I keep my eyes peeled on the boat as it gets closer and closer and finally I recognize my brother. Shortly thereafter they pull up alongside us. Ric jumps into our boat to help Elena get in the other one. I relax a bit when I see her being comforted by her brother. Although feeling a bit weak and lightheaded, I do manage to stand up by myself. I reach up with my hand and Matt takes hold pulling me up. Just as I set foot on board, I'm sent sprawling to the deck, having been cold cocked by Jeremy.

"What the hell are you doing?" Matt yells at him, kneeling down to check me over.

"Jeremy, why would you do that?" Elena screams, giving him a shove before stooping down on the other side of me. "Are you okay?" she ask, fingering my jaw with utmost care. I raise my head a bit to look at Jeremy when my vision blurs, summoning the darkness.

* * *

My eyes spring open when I hear my name. "Too bright," I whine, raising my forearm to cover my eyes.

"Damon, Damon, how do you feel?" I hear a familiar voice ask.

"Meredith?"

"Yep," she replies, lifting my arm so she can look into my eyes with her pen light.

"Why am I in the hospital?" I ask, noticing Elena sound asleep in the chair on the side of the room.

"Well, you fainted. I suspect not only because of that shot you took to the jaw but also because your hemoglobin was low from your shark encounter. Plus you have a couple of fractured ribs," she explains. Pointing up, I follow her finger with my eyes to see blood dripping into my vein.

"Did I lose that much blood?" I ask incredulously.

"Your hemoglobin was 7.9. That's your second unit," she tells me, raising her eyes to the unit of blood hanging from the IV pole.

"You got so much blood when you lost your leg that you had antibodies that were hard to match up. Otherwise you'd be done with your transfusion by now. I also had to sew up the deep cut on your side. Your lady friend told us that you had a pretty close call. You're lucky it didn't bite you Damon. I remember when you lost your leg. You were the talk of the town for weeks," she points out.

"I know Meredith. Thank you for helping me. Is Matt here?"

"Yeah, he and Caroline are outside talking to Mason. He usually comes to pick me up after my shift."

"We're going home to Cape Hatteras next week. I'll tell your mom and dad that I ran into you."

"Do that," I start to say when I hear Elena start to stir. She opens her eyes slowly but they nearly pop out of her head when she sees that I'm awake.

"Are you okay?" she asks, flying out of her chair to come to me. She lifts a quick kiss from my lips before releasing a deep shuddering breath.

"I'll be fine. Thank you for staying," I tell her, taking her hand in mine and pressing a kiss to it.

"I'm really sorry I scared you, Elena. Had I any clue, I never would've taken you out on the water."

"I know that. It was horror movie terrifying but you're right, it didn't bite you. It could've so easily," she tells me, her eyes never leaving mine.

"After everything that's happened, I'm not ready to say I love them, like you do but I'm willing to keep an open mind."

"Thank you and I'm proud of you," I tell her, lacing our fingers together. When I hear Meredith clear her throat, I turn my star struck gaze away from Elena.

"Baby, this is Meredith Lockwood. She's a friend of our family from way back, childhood to be exact. She and Matt even dated in high school till Mason swept her off of her feet," I explain, giving Meredith a wink.

"Matt and I are good though. We didn't let our breakup destroy our friendship," she tells Elena.

"It's late Damon, I'm going to keep you overnight for your blood transfusion. One more unit after this one. If your 'H & H' is stable in the morning, I'll discharge you, okay?"

"Only if Elena can stay with me?" I reply, staring at my girl.

"Yes, she can stay. I'll send your friends in to say goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't give the nurses any grief," she says to me, giving my arm a squeeze.

"Thanks again, Mer."

"You're welcome," she smiles and walks out of the door. Everyone files into the room to make sure that I'm okay. Not long after, Elena came back into the room practically dragging her brother. After the guys reassured me that they'd make the presentation to Walter tomorrow, I said goodnight to them. Elena then nudged Jeremy towards me, he rolls his eyes surreptitiously, probably hoping I wouldn't notice.

"I'm not sorry I hit you," he tells me, his voice still carrying quite a bit of hostility.

"Jeremy!" Elena remarks, looking aghast.

"Given her history, why would you take her out on an unsafe boat?"

"First of all, it's not an unsafe boat. We keep out boats in tip top shape. Second, I didn't know Elena's history. She never told me till today. Third, I would never, ever risk her safety."

"You didn't tell him?" he asks incredulously as he rounds on her.

"No, I didn't. I was afraid," she tells him, cowering.

"Why were you afraid? I mean, look at me, I only have one leg. Why would you think that I'd think any less of you because of a scar?"

"I don't know, Damon," she whispers, not looking at me.

"Jeremy, do you mind leaving us alone?" I ask him. He exhales then turns to his sister. When she tells him she wants to stay with me, he leaves after Elena gives him her apartment key.

"Come here," I tell her, sliding over in the bed, grimacing as I do so. I raise my eyebrows at her when she pushes the nurse button. After the nurse gives me some pain medication in my IV, I settle in to sleep with Elena secure in my arms.

* * *

Started awake the next morning when a nurse's aide comes into my room to disconnect my blood transfusion as the blood bag is empty, I grimace in pain. After she checks my vital signs, she offers me some pain medication before leaving us alone. She comes back, injecting some Morphine into my IV. Just as I'm about to drift back into a drug induced sleep, I visibly relax when I see that Elena is still sound asleep beside me in the bed.

Sometime later, a commotion awakens me when I hear loud voices. "Sir, you can't go in there this time of night. You'll have to come back during visiting hours." Glancing at the wall clock, I see it's only four in the morning. Grimacing as I sit up, I startle, clutching my side when my room door flies open. I'm stunned when I see my brother standing there.

Confused as to why he's here at this hour, "Matt?" Without saying a word, he hurries over to give me a hug.

"There's no easy way to tell you this," he begins, lowering his voice when he sees that Elena is asleep beside me.

"I didn't want you to have to hear it over the phone."

"You're scaring me. What is it?" Closing his eyes. he pinches the bridge of his nose. He takes a deep breath before taking my hand in his.

"Damon, it's grandpa. He.. he died during the night." My mouth drops agape as tears immediately fill my eyes.

"What? How?" I ask in shock.

"They think he had a heart attack," he tells, turning away to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"Matty, no, no, no," I whisper, staring into his teary eyes that match my own. I start to stand up but collapse to the floor in grief, my brother catches me, lowering us to the floor. Wrapping his arms around me, we cry together, both reeling from our unfathomable loss.

* * *

 _And now you know why she was so squeamish about him seeing her body. *Tears* Grandpa died. Matt and especially Damon are devastated. He was very close to his papa._

 _Thank you so much Eva. I really appreciate your wisdom and brilliance. Love you. Thank you all for the reviews. They're the reason I keep writing._

 _Title: 'Everybody Hurts' by REM_

 _Please give 'What If I Was Nothing' and 'Rainy Days and Mondays' a look. 'WIIWN' hit the 300 review mark yesterday. Those of you who helped make that possible, I thank you so very much. It's the first story I've written that has reached that milestone. 'Nothing Else Matters' has 290 reviews. I'd love for that one to reach 300 too._

 _*REVIEWS ARE LOVE*_

 _Stay safe and be happy. We'll see you next time._


	14. TAPS

Sucking in a deep shuddering breath, I squeeze Elena's hand tightly and close my eyes for a moment. I turn around to look at Matt who gives me a sad nod. Returning it, I push open the door of the church and walk inside. Stefan and Katherine are already waiting for us. Her bump is prominently displayed in her tight black dress. Mom and dad are sitting beside them, staring at his open casket prominently displayed near the altar.

With shaky steps, I move forward with a little gentle nudging from Matt and Caroline. I always knew this would be hard but it's so much harder than I ever could've imagined. I loved this man so very much. Pulling my lower lip between my teeth, I pull Elena with me to pay him my respects. When we get to his side, I reach into my pocket and pull out a few photos of the two of us. I had them laminated so I hope they'll go with him wherever his journey takes him.

Bending over, I whisper I love you in his ear before pulling back. As my eyes begin to well with moisture, I place my hand atop his rosary entwined hands, giving them a squeeze one last time. Feeling a handclasp at my shoulder, I turn around, my eyes meeting Matt's. My tears fall when he puts his arms around me, gently leading Elena and I to a pew. Once we sit down, he clutches my hand, attempting to assure me that we'll be okay eventually.

Shortly thereafter, I again feel hands on my shoulders. When I turn around, I'm both surprised and relieved to see that our best friends came to give Matt and I moral support. Ric, Jenna, Brady and Bonnie take a seat in the pew behind us. I turn around and shake their hands and whisper thank you. Matt does the same. As I look around the church, I'm not surprised to see how full it is. My grandpa had a lot of friends in this town.

When the music starts, we all stand up as the Priest and altar boys walk up the aisle. We sit through the Mass and after Fr. Thomas gives the invocation, he invites me to take the podium to give the eulogy. Although I could see that his health was failing the last time I was home, I was still never prepared for this day to come. After lifting a kiss from Elena's lips, I stand up and walk out of the pew. I stop at his casket once more, pressing my hand over his one last time before stepping up the podium.

"Henry James said, "Sorrow comes in great waves...but rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us, it leaves us. And we know that if it is strong, we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain."

Taking a moment to look over the congregation, I begin. "Thank you all for coming today to honor my grandfather. He was truly a great man. I will miss him everyday for the rest of my life." Looking out over the congregation, I continue.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Damon Salvatore. I recognize some faces, many I don't. As those of you who know me are aware, I lost my left leg to a bull shark when I was an eight year old kid. I almost died that day but for whatever reason, I'm standing in front of you all now. My parents hovered over me for some time. Given that I nearly died, it was certainly understandable. When I finally healed enough to go back into the water...,"

Giving my dad a tight smile, I take a deep breath and continue, "my dad didn't want me to go in the water because as you can imagine, I was terrified to go in again. After giving me a pep talk, grandpa took me by the hand and walked me into the surf. I've been in the water ever since despite my disability," I explain, focusing my eyes on Elena for a moment, just taking her in. Once I see her subtle nod, I forge onward.

"My Grandpa was a humble man; he never liked to be the center of attention. In life and now in death, he wouldn't want all of this attention focused on him. There's no doubt in my mind that he's want us to focus on the happiness in our lives rather the sadness we feel with his passing. He would want us to appreciate each other and our future. A man as humble and loving as Grandpa will always be remembered by those of us who knew him and loved him. Although we will miss him, his smile, his pranks, his love, we take consolation in the good feelings that will always remain in our memories," I add, having to step away from the podium a moment to regain my composure.

After taking a feel breathes, I walk back to the microphone. "I remember when I was a little boy, visiting my grandparents, grandpa would help the three of us make forts and haunted houses in the basement. After it was built, he'd pretend to go do something but he'd sneak back and scare us, or play tricks on us. And we'd shriek with fright but then laugh until our faces were sore because we knew it was Grandpa having fun with us," I add, unable to contain a chuckle.

"Then we'd go upstairs for a huge, delicious meal that Grandma would have prepared for us. Every Christmas, Grandpa used to dress up as Santa, and sometimes even the Easter Bunny. I was so excited when I saw him with a bag full of goodies. I would sit on his lap and I'd open the bag. It was so much fun. Whenever we would visit, Grandpa always played with us. We played board games, we'd have races and he would show me how his tools worked and we would build things together."

When I start to choke up, Matt comes up to stand beside me. When he wraps on arm around my back, I stare at him for a minute, garnering strength when he whispers that I can do this. Turning back to podium, I grip the edges so hard my knuckles turn white. Closing my eyes tightly, I finally get my bearings and continue.

"I remember one time we built a shelf that I hung up in my room, I still have it. It's hanging in my bedroom at home. He was so much fun to be around, he loved to laugh. God did he know how to laugh and how to live and how to have fun and I adored him. Grandpa always said that his grandchildren kept him young at heart. That made us feel good inside. I can see that my father got his fun loving spirit from grandpa. He was a great teacher to have, not only for my dad and us, but also for everybody." Suddenly, I just can't continue as my eyes fill with tears. I start to step away, when Matt pulls me close again. As always, my big brother comes to my rescue, picking up where I left off.

"All three of us were close to Papa, but he had a special bond with Damon," he says, giving me a look before turning back to the audience. "He was selfless and kind. He loved being a parent and grandparent. It was his calling in life. Papa, we will always miss you. But mostly, we want to thank you for giving us so many wonderful memories to hang on to. You were a role model, and a friend. Your guidance and love will carry us through till it's time for us to join you. We love you Grandpa." Matt finishes, turning to me to give me a hug. Together the two us go back to our pew.

The rest of the service finishes in a blur. After the reception at the church hall, we go back to my parents house. Brady and Bonnie along with Ric and Jenna are going to stay at grandpa's house tonight. Matt, Caroline, Elena and I will join them over there later. Stefan and Katherine are staying at mom and dad's house. Needing some time to myself, I quietly slip outside and walk down to the beach. I drop down into the sand and bury my face in my hands. My tears are endless. I miss him so much already. I don't know how long I've been sitting there when I hear my name.

"Damon?"

"What are we going to do without him, dad?" I ask, reaching up to wipe my nose. Lowering himself to sit beside me, he stares straight ahead. I can see that his eyes are glossy with tears too. He gently places his hand on my thigh, squeezing gently before letting go.

"I miss him too, Damon. You're so lucky you got to spend so much quality time with him. Three of my four grandparents died before I was born. I never had a relationship with any of them really," he tells me, his eyes meeting mine for a moment.

"I'm sorry, dad."

"I know. He was so proud of you and all you have accomplished with your life. Of course, he was proud of all three of you boys. He loved you, Damon," he tells me, our eyes meeting again. He reaches into his pocket and hands me an envelope.

"What's this?"

"It's a poem actually. I put it in an envelope. I think it was his way of letting us know that he would be okay," dad tells me.

Opening up the envelope, I pull out the piece of paper and read it aloud.

 _Do not stand at my grave and weep_

 _I am not there. I do not sleep._

 _I am a thousand winds that blow._

 _I am the diamond glint on snow._

 _I am the sunlight on ripened grain._  
 _I am the gentle autumn rain._

 _When you awaken in the morning's hush_

 _I am the swift uplifting rush_

 _Of quiet birds in circled flight._

 _I am the soft stars that shine at night._

 _Do not stand at my grave and cry:_

 _I am not there. I did not die._

Tears are streaming anew by the time I get done reading his poem. "It's beautiful."

"It is," he says. "I'm going to go inside. Are you ready?"

"I'm going to stay out here just a little longer. For this dad...," I tell him, holding the poem in my hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you want me to send Matt or your lady friend outside? No need, look over there," he tells me gesturing with his head. I turn my eyes to my left and smile when I see Elena walking along the beach by herself. She stops and just stares out at the open ocean for a little bit. When she turns again, she sees me. When I wave, she waves back and starts walking towards me. I love the smell of the sea air. The sky is clear and the moon is full. The sun is just about to go below the horizon in the west. The western sky is brilliant tonight with hues of yellow, orange, pink and red. It's stunning. A smile forms on my face when I stand up to salute my grandpa because somehow I know it's a sign from him that wherever he is, he's okay.

"Hi," Elena says, pressing a kiss to my lips. With all the stress of today, my side is really aching but I don't want to ruin this moment with her.

"I'm just going to go inside. Stop in before you go to dad's house," he tells me, then walks off.

"What do you think of my hometown?" I ask her.

"It's gorgeous here. I was born and raised in Virginia but I've never been to Cape Hatteras before," she tells me.

"Did the three of you have a nice visit with my mom and Katherine? Of course Caroline knows them but this is the first time Jenna and Bonnie have met my family," I point out.

"We did. You're going to be an uncle soon," she says with a smile.

"I am. I love Stefan but he and I have never been as close as Matt and me. Maybe it's because he was such a bookworm. He always occupied himself with other things. Matt always looked after me. He got really protective after I lost my leg because you know, kids are mean. They would make fun of me. He has never let me down," I tell her. Elena's arm is wrapped around me slightly but when I hear a gasp, I pull away.

"What's the matter?"

"You've overdone it today. You're bleeding. Stefan is a doctor. Let's go have him look at it," she says, taking my hand and pulling me back towards the house.

"Slow down baby, it hurts," I utter, screwing my face up because it does indeed hurt. She links her arm in mine and together we slowly walk into the house. Fortunately Stefan is still up.

"Hey Stef, can you give a guy a hand?" I ask, stooping over, closing my eyes tight.

"What's the matter? Are you hurt?" he asks, dropping his magazine to help me to sit down.

"I just need you to check my stitches. I obviously overexerted myself with lifting the casket and all," I utter, resting my head against the back of the chair.

"Matt," he says aloud. When he comes into the room, he stops short when he sees that I'm pale and sweaty.

"Damon?"

"I'm okay Matt. I just over did it today. I think I must've ripped some of the sutures or something."

"Here's my car keys Matt. My medical bag is in the trunk. Would you mind grabbing it?" Matt gives me a look before running outside. In no time he's back, handing the bag to Stefan.

"What else to you need, Stefan?" Matt asks.

"Get me some warm water so I can clean it off and give it a look."

"I can do that, Matt. I'm a little squeamish around blood anyway," Elena tells me. She stands up, presses a kiss to the top of my head and walks out of the room.

"Okay little brother, take your tee shirt off," he tells me, helping me to sit forward to pull it over my head. My dressing isn't completely saturated with blood, there's just one spot soft ball sized spot that bled through my shirt.

"Oh my word, what happened?" my mom squeals when she sees me.

"It's okay mom. It's just road rash," I tell her. A little white lie is better than having her melt down if she knows I had another shark encounter.

"I told you to get rid of that motorcycle," she scolds.

"I'm fine mom. It's just a little sore," I start to say, grimacing when Stefan starts to peel my dressing off. After Elena hands him a basin with warm water, he wets the washcloth and starts to gently dab my abused skin so he can see what the problem is.

"See this spot," he asks, raising his eyes to mine. It has dehisced. That means the incision came apart. I'll clean it up and put some steri-strips on it. You'll have to let it heal from the inside out now Damon. I can't put fresh sutures in it. The risk of infection is too great. Do you want to tell me what really happened now that mom went upstairs?"

"I fell into the Pacific and brushed up against a white shark," I tell him as if it were no more exciting than walking to the mailbox.

"Say again?" he asks, his eyes wide.

"That's what happened, Stefan.

"I don't know why you do what you do?" he utters, shaking his head. Once he gets my side cleaned up and redressed, he and Matt help me out to the car so Matt, Elena and I can go back to grandpa's house. Caroline was tired so she went back to the house with the rest of our group a couple of hours ago.

"Take it easy," Stefan says, giving me a one armed hug.

"Thanks Stefan. I appreciate it."

"I'm still your brother even though we don't see each other very often. Of course I'm going to look after you. I want to check that again tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight," I tell him then crawl in the passenger seat. Elena slides in the back seat while Matt drives. Waving goodbye, Matt backs out of the driveway and takes off down the street.

* * *

Once we get back, Elena and I say goodnight to everyone and go upstairs to grandpa's room. It's bittersweet being here. And although there are clean sheets on the bed, it still smells like him. For whatever reason, it's comforting to me. After taking off my clothes, I wash my face before going to sit at the bedside. I take my leg off and slide under the covers. Elena hands me some Advil and a glass of water before going into the bathroom herself.

I visibly relax when she crawls in beside me. "Come here," I demand softly. When she snuggles into my good side, I bury my face in her hair, whispering, "I need you, baby." Raising her eyes to mine, she reaches up to caress one side of my face with her palm before raising up on her elbow to smack my lips with hers in a languid kiss.

"We can't tonight. You already overexerted yourself to the point of breaking open some sutures. I'm not going to risk you getting hurt some more," she explains.

"You're right and I am emotionally exhausted. Can you please just hold me, Elena?" I ask, my eyes boring into hers. Nodding, she repositions us so my head is laying against her breast as she gently massages my head with both her fingernails and her fingertips. In no time, I'm hovering on the edge between wake and sleep, tumbling over completely when the thrumming of her heartbeat lulls me to sleep.

* * *

 _Thank you for everything Eva. Thank you for your reviews. I love to read your thoughts about my stories._

 _Poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye. Someone gave it to me when my mom died. It was comforting for me at that time._

 _Chapter title: 'TAPS'. I just imagined Grandpa as a retired Marine. 'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem. Ronald Reagan._

 _Since 1862, 'Taps' has played at military funerals to honor the sacrifice of fallen service members. Originally, however, it was intended to send soldiers off to a less permanent sleep. During the Civil War, Union buglers signaled 'lights out' to their comrades with a tune called 'Extinguish Lights', which was actually borrowed from an 1809 French bugle call. Finding the song too formal, in July 1862, Union Army General Daniel Butterfield, Army of the Potomac, decided to find a more appealing tune to end the day. During a respite while his brigade was camping at Harrison's Landing after the Seven Days Battles of the Peninsular Campaign, Butterfield worked on the new tune. In collaboration with his bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, the two rearranged an earlier bugle call, 'Scott Tattoo', into the 24 notes of 'Taps'._

 _'Rainy Days and Mondays' updated yesterday and 'What if I was Nothing' updated Thursday. Thank you again for all of your support with my stories. Please remember to click that *Review* button. How else am I to know if you like my stories?_

 _As always, stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful weekend. Until the next time._


	15. We Are Broken

"Walter, you wanted to speak to me?" I ask when I step inside his office. We've been back from Cape Hatteras for just over a week. Although it's been that long since I was injured, my side is still inflamed. I think it might be infected from going into the ocean with it was still pretty raw. It hurts like hell plus I think I've been running some fevers at night. I may have to bite the bullet and go back to see Meredith. I'm eating Advil like candy lately which Stefan chastised me for. After his baby arrives, he told Matt and I that maybe the three of them will fly out here to visit us. He actually confessed to me that he'd love to see a white shark in its natural habitat but he doesn't want to go into the same water as one of them. What's the most frustrating is that I've barely been able to spend any quality time with Elena. She had to drive down to her school's campus and spend about four days there working on her papers. She'll need to turn them in when school resumes for her in a few weeks. As such, I've been rather moody this week.

"Yes, come in Damon," he says to me. "I asked Matt to join us too."

"What's going on?" I look up just in time to see Matt poke his head in through the gap in the door.

"Please join us Matt," Walter tells him, gesturing with his hand for Matt to come in. Matt gives me a curious look which I return with my own perplexed look.

"What is it Walter?" Matt asks, making himself comfortable in the chair beside mine.

"Apparently, someone found out about the island. I've learned from my contacts in DC that there have been inquiries about buying it and marketing it commercially as a prime shark hunting and fishing destination. It's becoming complicated. I know this is your baby, Damon but right now, I don't know what, if anything that we can do? If some rich bastard buys the island, it's out of our hands.

My mouth is hanging open as Matt and I share a look. "Son of a bitch," I yell, losing my temper, shaking my head angrily. When I feel Matt's hand on my forearm, I take a deep breath to try to compose myself. After a few seconds, I turn my attention back to Walter.

"I'm sorry for my outburst, Walter. Do you have any idea of who it might be?" I ask, pounding my clenched fist on his desk top.

Tenting his fingers, he looks at me and then at Matt. "I have one of my sources looking into it. Unfortunately, Damon, for right now anyway, our hands are tied."

"C'mon Walter, we can't give up. There must be something that we can do? I mean, we pretty much have what we need to present it to the proper authorities. If we're not able to stop the sale, is there still a way that it can be protected by having it declared a sanctuary?"

"That's something I'll have to look into," he tells us, his own hands now clenched together.

"Son of a bitch," Matt blurts out, his temper flaring along with mine.

"Is there anything else Walter?" When he shakes his no, Matt and I get up to leave. Just as I grab ahold of the doorknob, I turn back to him, "Keep us informed, okay?" When he nods yes, we walk out, pulling the door closed behind us.

"I certainly never expected anything like this to pop up," I remark to Matt.

"We have to do something Matt. If they use it for fishing, I don't know what will happen? How many more sharks will die? You know as well as I do that millions are killed every year for medicines and shark fin soup and things like that. I don't know how long the species can survive if we don't start doing some conservation measures," I add, raking my hand through my hair.

"I know, Damon, I know," he answers, shaking his head back and forth. "This is beside the point, but how's your side? You don't fool anyone. I've seen you grimace and you're definitely favoring it."

"I'm fine Matt." Glancing at my watch, my eyes widen. "I actually need to catch Ric. We're going out to get a look at the seal rookeries. We still on for tonight?" I ask.

"Yeah, we're meeting at the grill at eight thirty. Is Elena joining you and Ric?"

"No, she's working with Caroline today. I'll see you tonight," I tell him, rushing out the door.

"Be careful," I hear him yell just as the door to our building closes.

* * *

It's nearly four thirty when Ric and I get back. We more or less just skimmed around one of the islands with the boat. We did see Emma. She's one of our white sharks. We've been seeing her in these waters for several years already. Emma has a recognizable divot in her dorsal fin so she's easy to identify. She's about thirteen feet long and is completely beautiful. Once when I was in the shark cage, she got close enough for me to pet her.

After powering down my computer and grabbing my brief case, I stop in the lab to check in with Elena. Walking in, I shake my head when I see the two of them are giggling over something. When I clear my throat to get their attention, Caroline rolls her eyes. I'm in a not so nice mood because of what Walter told us. Perhaps the scowl on my face is a clue.

"What's the matter with you?" Caroline asks.

"Walter told us that the island is in danger of being sold to a commercial conglomerate. I don't know if we'll be able to save it or not," I lament, furrowing my brows.

"Damon, I'm sorry," Elena says, walking and pressing a kiss to my lips. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Walter is looking into it." Feeling fatigued, I reach up to pinch the bridge of noise for a moment before raising my eyes to the girls again.

"I just stopped in to see if you wanted me to pick you up tonight?"

"No, I'll meet you there. I have a couple of things I need to do when I get off."

"Oh, okay. We're meeting at eight forty five. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tonight," she smiles, lifting one more kiss from me.

"Later Caroline," I utter as I walk out of the door.

* * *

Deciding to stop in at the Chinese restaurant to get some takeout for supper, I pull into the parking lot and go inside. After placing my order, I sit down on one of the chairs they have available for people that are waiting for their orders. I pick up a magazine to thumb through as I wait. When I hear a familiar voice, I look up from my magazine, set it back in the rack and get up to see if it's really her.

When I look into the dining area, I'm a bit taken aback when I see Elena, my Elena, dining with Elijah. She has told me that they're old acquaintances but I still can feel the sting of jealousy wheedle its way up my spine. Just as I'm about to turn away, I see Elijah bend over and grab a file from his briefcase. After he opens it up, he starts pointing at whatever is on the page before he turns to the next page. Elena is completely engaged in whatever they're talking about. If she wanted me to know about her rendezvous with Elijah, she would've told me. Although my curiosity is definitely piqued, I turn around when I hear my name, pay for my food and leave.

Even though I have no idea what they were talking about, I still feel a little hurt that she couldn't just tell me she was going to see Elijah for supper. Does she still not trust me with whatever the two of them are to each other? Maybe when we get home from the grill this evening, I'll bring it up. I wasn't spying on her or following her. It was sheer happenstance that I happened to go to that restaurant for food.

After changing into a clean pair of jeans and a v neck tee shirt, I walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I finish, I rinse out my mouth and the sink before walking back into my bedroom. Just as I'm about to click the TV off, I happen to see Nick Mikaelson's face appear on screen. Although I want to turn it off, I'm much too interested to know what he's advertising in a TV commercial. He's never advertised any of his other commercial ventures. Taking a seat at the foot of the bed, I use the remote to turn up the volume.

As he talks, I see pictures of his charter boats along with people being photographed next to the sharks they've killed. Then he starts talking about going shark fishing on a new island, near Baja and Guadalupe. When panoramic shots of the island suddenly appear on the screen, my mouth drops to the floor when I realize it's not just any island, it's my island. There's no mistaking the rocky cove as it has a tell-tale cross-like rock formation on it. Although stunned to silence, my fuse has definitely been lit. Feeling anger surge through every molecule in my body, I slam the remote down on the bed. Knowing I have to tell the guys, I run out of my apartment as fast as my leg will allow and hurry over to the grill.

Once I get there, the first thing I notice is Elena, laughing and smiling with our group. I'm a bit surprised to see Meredith and Mason sitting there as well. They've pushed a couple of tables together to make enough space for all of us. I quickly walk over to our table, grabbing the first mug of beer I see, chugging it quickly. After setting it down, I grab the edge of our table, knuckles white when I lean over.

"What's wrong?" Matt asks, staring at me, his eyes full of worry and confusion. Staring at him for a minute, I shake my head, still too angry to speak.

"Damon?" Elena asks, placing her hand over mine.

"It's Nick. He found out about the island. He's already advertising it for shark hunting. I saw him on TV," I say, my voice seething in its intensity. Elena gives my hand a squeeze before dropping into the chair next to where I'm standing.

"How?" Ric asks.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out," I tell them, chugging down another glass of beer.

"Take it easy Damon," Matt cautions me. I'm just about to sit down when I hear his voice. Grimacing tightly, I march over to him, reel back and knock him to the floor with a right hook to the jaw.

"You bastard," I yell at him. That's my island, how the hell did you find it?" He infuriates me all the more when he starts laughing hysterically. When Jules helps him up, he wrinkles his nose a bit while rubbing his jaw. He looks like he's going to punch me back but suddenly he turns his eyes away from me. I turn to see who he's staring at, suspicious when I realize he's looking right at Elena who is now standing just a short distance from me. Smirking sinisterly, he gets close enough to whisper in my ear.

"Why don't you ask your little girlfriend mate?" My eyes widen to the size of saucers as I turn to look at her. She's staring back at me, her pupils equally wide.

"That's it mate, ask her," Nick asserts, goading me even further.

"Is it true Elena, did you tell him? Is that why you're always meeting with Elijah including earlier this evening? Was all this...," I ask, gesturing with my hand between her and me, ".. a lie, just to get information?" I can't even process the sting of betrayal I feel right now. I can actually feel my body trembling as I struggle to comprehend what's happening here. It's like someone shoved their hand through my chest wall and ripped my heart right out. I can barely even look at her, the taste of bile thick in my mouth.

"It wasn't like that, Damon. I swear it wasn't," she tells me, her voice anxious and her eyes full of unshed tears.

"Just what was it like then Elena? Why don't you explain it to me?" I sneer, rounding on her, my voice full of malice.

"I just wanted to help you. I took the plans to Elijah. He... he was supposed to help you. I don't know how Nick found out? Please believe me," she pleads.

"How could you? You made me fall for you just so you could use me to earn a profit for Nick. Was that your plan all along? I can't bear to look at you," I snap, my own eyes moist but I refuse to cry in front of her. Reaching up to wipe the sweat from my brow, I feel hot and sweaty and sick to my stomach.

"No Damon, that's not how it was, I swear to you. Please, please, let me explain," she begs, tears trailing down her cheeks.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," I whisper, shaking my head back and forth. Starting to feel light-headed, I begin to back away from her. As I do, I stumble when my knees start to wobble. Just as I reach the entrance door, my vision fades to black causing me to crash to the floor unconscious, her soft hand on my cheek the last thing I feel.

* * *

 _Happy Halloween! Today is actually my wedding anniversary... My husband said he's never forget if we married on this day.. Go figure!_

 _Damon? I wish he would've given her the opportunity to explain. We all know Damon tends to leap before looking how far down the fall is..._

 _Thank you Eva for everything. Thanks to all of your for your reviews and interest in the story. I just really love sharks and I wanted to build a story around them._

 _Title: 'We Are Broken' by 'This, The Silent War'._

 _I have posted the first two chapters of 'Tears in Heaven'. Please give it a look. It is so much more than the title seems to suggest._

 _'What if I was Nothing' updated on Thursday. 'Rainy Days and Mondays' yesterday. Remember to click that review button._

 _Stay safe and have fun if you're going out tonight. Have a wonderful weekend. We'll see you next time.._


	16. Love Hurts

Squeezing my eyes shut, I cringe in pain when I stretch my muscles. Just as I clutch my side to stop the throbbing pain, an annoying alarm sounds causing my eyes to fly open. I roll my eyes when I look around to see that I'm laying in a hospital bed. How the hell did I end up here, I wonder to myself?

"You're awake," I hear Matt then I push my nurse button so he or she can come in here and silence this blasted alarm.

"Why am I here?"

"You know why you're here Damon," Matt scolds.

"You're septic, you have a massive infection in your side. Meredith said you'll need to be here at least a week. She also said you might even need to continue the antibiotics for several weeks depending on what your blood cultures grow, if anything, and how your body responds to the treatment.

"Six weeks? I can't stay here for six weeks, we have to stop Nick," I protest, my voice anxious.

"You won't have to stay here for the entire six weeks. Apparently they can set you up for outpatient IV therapy. I'm really sorry I didn't keep a closer eye on you," he says, lowering his eyes.

"Matt? Don't talk like that. You didn't do anything wrong. It's my own fault," I mutter, looking away for a minute myself.

"I knew I shouldn't have been swimming when my side was still raw but I did it anyway. I ignored the fevers I've been having too. I just..," I utter, dropping my chin onto my chest.

"She's worried sick about you, you know that right?" Both disdain and despair immediately fill my senses. I reach up to pinch the bridge of my nose because I refuse to shed any tears for her after what she's done.

"Damon?"

"Don't Matt. I don't want to see her, I don't want to hear about her, God, I don't want anything to do with her," I stress to him in no uncertain terms, my voice thick with emotion. I was falling in love with her. Who am I kidding? I am in love with her and everything hurts and it's not just physical pain, it's emotional. It feels like when grandpa died and I don't know how to process this. I've never been in love before so I don't know how to cope with everything I'm feeling.

"Calm down, okay? I won't mention her again," he tells me, reaching over to place his hand atop my forearm. Dropping my eyes, I stare at where our skin is touching for a moment before falling back against the pillow.

"I'm tired Matt," I utter softly before turning my back to him and closing my eyes, wondering what she'll do with her ' _thirty pieces of silver_ '.

* * *

After two weeks, I finally got out of the hospital but I still have my PICC line because I'm still having to give myself IV antibiotics for another four weeks. It was all arranged through home health. Then Walter made me take another two weeks off. Because my body has been through the proverbial wringer, I get fatigued easily. I have to go to see Meredith every three days or so to have my Vancomycin trough checked to make sure the dosage of the drug stays within a therapeutic level so it doesn't damage my kidneys. It's tedious to say the least. I'm back at work, finally feeling like I can contribute something. I haven't seen Elena since that night. She went so far as to show up at my apartment a few times. As much as I wanted to hold her in my arms again as if none of this had happened, I just couldn't open the door.

If that wasn't enough, I've had to contend with Nick's constant taunting. He's getting ready to take his first fishing excursion to the island. I have no way of stopping him which pisses me off all the more. Then there's Jeremy. Elena's internship concluded two weeks ago. On Elena's last night in town, my 'family' met her for a few drinks at the grill. They just wanted to tell her goodbye despite what went down between the two of us. Elena has developed a camaraderie with Caroline, Bonnie and Jenna. I just couldn't find it in me to raise a fuss about it. I actually went down to the grill but couldn't force myself to go inside so I just stared at her through the window for some time before starting to go home. Jeremy ambushed me, knocking me to the pavement once again for hurting his sister. I didn't fight back. I just stood up, wiped the blood from my lip and walked home. I haven't seen or heard from either of them since that night. Yet every time she enters my thoughts, I hurt inside.

Walter hasn't been able to find out anything useful from his contacts in Washington, DC. It's so maddening. Because of Elena's duplicity, I know Elijah Mikaelson has some connection to it. It's all being kept hush, hush though. I wonder why all the secrecy? To his credit, Walter hasn't given up yet. He's actually going to fly to Washington DC to speak with our state's representatives and someone in the Department of the Interior which covers our national parks and monuments. I wanted to go along with him but I can't because I'm still getting antibiotics. And although I go to work almost every day, my heart just isn't in it right now. I'm still reeling on the inside from what she did to me on top of nothing but bad news on the island. I'm not coping very well at all.

Matt and Caroline have been keeping me busy. I know if push comes to shove, they'll be on my side. However, they've both told me more than once that I should really talk to Elena. I just can't. It hurts too much even just to think about her. I've been hitting the lecture circuit. I've been to three colleges but they're close enough that it's a day trip because I need to be able to replenish my antibiotic supply. Once Stefan found out about my health scare, he really laid into me about not taking better care of myself.

I can't help but reminisce about my grandfather. I miss being able to call him in the evenings to ask his advice. I hate knowing that he isn't here anymore. I wish Matt and I hadn't spent two years away from Cape Hatteras. During that first year of our absence, he flew out here with mom and dad for a week's stay. I'll always have that as well as the time I spent with him at the start of the summer. I so wish I could ask for his advice about Elena.

Shaking my head slightly at the situation I find myself in, my reverie broken when someone honks their horn at me. With my mind elsewhere, I drove over the center line. Unless I want to have a car wreck in addition to everything else that's gone wrong, I know I better keep my eye on the road. I just wish I didn't feel so empty on the inside every time my mind conjures up a memory of being with her, being inside of her.

"Damon, you ready to go out onto the boat today?" Matt asks when I arrive for work this morning.

"Sure," I reply with lackluster.

"I wish you'd snap out of it Damon," he says, staring at me, shaking his head just slightly.

"I miss her, okay? And I hate it that I miss her," I admit, sucking my lower lip between my teeth.

"Go talk to her then. You've never taken the time to listen to her side of the story. Damon, you know her intimately, do you really believe she'd stoop to espionage?"

"I don't want to talk about her. It hurts too much. I'll get over it eventually."

"You're as stubborn as the day is long," he scolds. "Come on, let's go down to the boat. Brady and Ric are waiting for us," he tells me, pulling the door open and motioning for me to go through first with his arm.

We spent the afternoon fishing just the four of us. It was really nice to just forget about everything for a change. The four of us just shooting the breeze and having a few beers together just like we used to when we first started here. Putting my legs up, I raise my bottle, "Thanks guys, this has been a really good day," I tell them as we click our bottles together.

* * *

Three months have passed since I last talked to Elena. I still miss everything about her. Despite wanting to, I can't seem to get back into the swing of things. I haven't even picked up any other women since she left. For whatever reason, I just don't want to sleep with anyone else. Unable to talk myself out of it, I even drove down to her campus hoping to get a glimpse of her and I did. She was walking on the sidewalk, her windblown hair shimmering in the sunlight. I literally felt the gut punch when I realized she wasn't alone. Elijah of all people, ran up behind her and gave her a flower. She smiled and laughed and melted into his hug. I literally felt the dagger twist when he kissed her forehead. It could be completely innocent on her part or it could be that she's given up on me. Although the thought cuts me to the core, I can't really blame her.

I heard from a friend of mine that Nick is taking his first group of paying customers to my island this week. After struggling with that infection for so long and having so many setbacks, I'm finally given the all clear from my doctors to do some traveling. I had some issues with my kidneys when my Vancomycin trough rose to a toxic level. I had to spend several days in the hospital getting IV fluids in an attempt to stimulate my kidneys. Fortunately it was successful. After that cleared up, I got septic again when my PICC line got infected. I spent another week in the hospital having to deal with that. They took out my old PICC and put a new one in and then I had to endure another six weeks of IV antibiotics. Never will I be so careless with my health again.

Not wanting Matt to know what I was up to, I buy myself a plane ticket to Mexico for a long weekend so I can spy on Nick. I thought that I had outsmarted my brother and my friends but I was wrong. When I arrived at the airport in Cabo, Matt, Ric and Brady were already there waiting for me. Although it irritated me a little, I was glad to have their help. I wouldn't been able to pilot a boat that could keep track of Nick by myself.

After spending the evening in the cantina, we go back to our hotel for the night. We've already rented a boat to use tomorrow and the next day. We're going to try to intercept Nick before he can do this. Walter is finally making progress on who's buying the island. The Mikaelson family is rich beyond belief. Elijah has managed their assets well after their father died. His uncle, Mikael, is a high priced attorney who helped the family save a bundle on inheritance taxes. As such, they would have the funds to buy this island if they're indeed who's trying to purchase it.

Even if it does sell, perhaps I could plead my case with them to preserve the land as it is. That will be my last option if Walter can't find a way to stop the sale.

"You ready, Damon?" Matt asks when he wakes me the next morning. Although I'm still tired, I force myself to get up. I walked around a little by myself last evening, finding a few of the little kiosks still open, I found a beautiful Larimar pendant. Larimar is only found in the Domican Republic but they must have a buyer. It's a beautiful opaque sky blue colored stone. It's an oval cabochon and it's completely beautiful. For whatever reason I can imagine myself draping it on Elena's neck so I bought it and buried it in my suitcase once I got back to our room. So many times I have looked at her phone number on mine wanting to push it but something has always stopped me. I'm never going to have any peace of mind unless I bite the bullet and talk to her. I just haven't summoned the nerve yet.

"Yeah, I'll just get dressed as fast as I can. I want to get on the water as quickly as we can," I tell him in no uncertain terms. Once I finish dressing, we lock our hotel room door and run down to the coffee shop to grab four big cups and some pastries for the guys. Ric texted us that they're already at the boat waiting for us. We quickly pay for our purchases before grabbing a taxi to take us to the marina. When we arrive, I hand Matt the coffee holder and the pastries so I can climb on board. I do the same then for him. After passing them out, Ric fires of the engine and we take off on the wide open ocean heading in a south westerly direction.

We spend nearly the whole day in the water near the island. We haven't had any sightings of Nick's boat or anyone else's boat as far as that goes. Deciding to call it a day, we turn the boat back towards Cabo so it can be refueled for tomorrow's venture. Just for the hell of it, I pick up the binoculars and start scanning the horizon. I gasp when I see a flare go up from a distant boat. We're too far away to see what kind of trouble they're having. I point it out to Matt and he immediately gets on the radio to see if he can find out anything or perhaps talk to the captain of that boat. Brady changes course so we can be of assistance as it seems to be in distress. There would be no other reason to fire off a flare.

It takes us about a half an hour to get to the floundering boat. It's nearly underwater as six people are screaming to us to help them. It's Nick's boat. Even thought the stern is completely submerged, I can still see the words Mikaelson Charters written in script. Brady carefully steers out boat alongside it and I start helping passengers into our boat.

"Where's Nick?" I ask but none of them answers till I pull Kol aboard our boat.

"Kol, where's Nick?" I may not like the son of a bitch but I'll be damned if I let him drown if I can save him.

"Kol? Where is he?" I yell. He looks at me through teary eyes.

"He's below. I couldn't get him out."

"God damn it," I curse as I jump on board the sinking boat. I suck in a breath of air and swim below the surface of the water as best I can given that I don't have my swim leg on. I knock on the only door I see. I let out a sigh of relief when he knocks back so I know he's still alive. I surface again to suck in another deep breath before going back. Unable to pull the door open by myself, I surface one more time. "Matt, I need the crow bar. Quick! I don't think he has much time." I scream. Matt grabs it and dives in to help me. The two of us, working together finally get the door open. Nick is floating unconscious now. I grab onto him and swim back to the surface, Matt helping me. Ric and Brady grab his body and pull him on board, immediately starting CPR. After they tire, we switch places and I start pumping his chest while Matt blows puffs of air into his mouth.

"You bastard, you don't get to die on me," I yell as I continue to do chest compressions. Finally after what seems like an eternity, he sputters, coughing up a mouth full of water.

Sighing with relief, I help him roll onto his side so he doesn't aspirate anymore sea water into his lungs. Matt makes a distress call for an ambulance to meet us when we get to port as Ric guns the engine to get us there as quickly as possible. Fortunately he's still breathing on his own by the time we finally get to shore about forty five minutes later. Once he's loaded into the awaiting ambulance, we all collapse from exhaustion. Once we get back to our motel, we all just crawl into bed as the day has been exhausting both physically and emotionally.

* * *

When I wake up the next morning, I notice that Matt is on his cell phone most likely talking to Caroline I surmise. When he hangs up, he gives me a look.

"What?" I ask, curious as to why he's looking at me that way.

"That was Elijah Mikaelson."

"Really? How did he get your personal phone number?" I ask, perplexed.

"Caroline gave it to him. He flew by private plane overnight because of Nick. He's downstairs in the lobby, he'd like to speak to you."

"Me?"

"You," he tells me, his facial expression serious.

"What could he possibly want with me?" I grumble, throwing my leg over the side of the bed to get dressed.

"Hello?" he mutters sarcastically. "It probably has something to do with you saving Nick's life."

"I didn't do it alone, Matt. You helped," I remind him, strapping on my leg before pulling on a pair of jeans. After I slip on a tee shirt and my shoe, I go to wash my face.

"Why don't you come downstairs with me? I'll buy you some breakfast," I add, hoping to tempt him.

"I'll come along. Let's go." I nod and follow him out of our room. When we get to the lobby, some guy I don't recognize walks over to us.

"Mr. Salvatore?" he asks.

"Yes, we're both Mr. Salvatore," I tell the guy, trying not to roll my eyes.

"Mr. Mikaelson is waiting for you in the cafeteria. Please follow me," he says, his voice so serious. After sharing a glance with Matt and a shrug of my shoulders, we follow him.

"Damon, Matt, how are you?" Elijah asks, standing up when we reach his table.

"Cut the pleasantries, Elijah. What did you want to see us about?" I ask, cutting right to the chase.

"You saved my brother's life. I need to thank you for that," he explains.

Exhaling a breath of air, I rest my elbows on the table top and tent my fingers. "Look Elijah. I don't like your brother but I'd never let anyone drown and I didn't save him alone. My friends all helped."

"I know that Damon. I also wanted to tell you that I've been in contact with Walter Peck. My company bought that island. It is my intention to preserve the pristine nature of it. I have been in contact with the proper authorities both at home and here in Mexico. It will be declared a nature preserve. No shark fishing will be allowed. Does that pique your interest at all?" he asks.

My mouth is almost literally on the floor. I'm stunned into silence. I turn to look at Matt who's smiling from ear to ear.

"Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful beyond belief but I don't understand?"

"It's my way of thanking you for saving my brother and I also did it because Elena asked me to. Elena is someone who's very important to me, Damon. She told me what happened between you two. You should know that she didn't deceive you. She brought your proposal to me to see if I could help you accomplish your dream."

I feel about an inch tall when he tells me about Elena. I've treated her abhorrently.

"How do you know her?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

"I was engaged to her sister Tatiana. Everyone knew her as Tatia though. She was the love of my life. She died in my arms after being bitten...,"

"By a Tiger shark," I finish. "Damn it, why didn't she just tell me what her connection to you was?" I purse my lips together, angry at myself.

"I'm so sorry Elijah. I thought the two of you were...,"

"I know what you thought and I know you saw us together many times whispering and meeting clandestinely. Elena is like my little sister. She and Jeremy moved into my home after Tatia died. They have no other family. And Damon, you still a have a chance to make things right. I hope you don't blow it," he adds, staring at me intently.

"I'd love to stay and share drinks you, Elijah, but I need to get back to Elena," I tell him, keeping eye contact for a second or two before turning to Matt. "We have to go back. I have to talk to her, apologize," I tell him, my voice frantic.

"I'll be staying here till Nick can leave the hospital. I'll have my pilot fly you back home if you want?"

"I'll never be able to thank you enough," I tell him flying out of my chair. I offer him my hand to shake. Taking it in his, he gives me one more admonishment.

"Elena is a wonderful girl. If you hurt her again, you'll have me to answer to," he threatens.

"I have no intention of hurting her again. Thank you Elijah," I tell him. "Come on Matt. We have to get out of here." Matt gets up and the two of us rush back to our room to prod Ric and Brady to hurry while at the same time, I'm throwing things haphazardly into my suitcase. I practically run to the elevator and out of the hotel lobby. Elijah has his driver right there waiting for us when we step outside. We all jump in and he speeds us to the airport. Once we're in the plane, I buckle my safety belt as the pilot starts to taxi down the runway. My foot tapping the floor in a nervous cadence. Although I have no idea what I'm going to say to her, I know I have to make it count. Although full of nervous energy, I close my eyes and try to relax as I count down the hours till I can see my girl again.

* * *

 _Thank you so much Eva. I appreciate everything you do for me so much._

 _And I thank all of you for taking the time to read and review. It does mean the world to me._

 _Title: 'Love Hurts' by Nazareth_

 _I just posted a one-shot 'Love Story'. Please read and review._

 _'I posted the final chapter of 'What if I Was Nothing' on Thursday. Please give 'Rainy Days and Mondays' and 'Tears in Heaven' a read._

 _*Reviews are Love"._

 _As always, stay safe and have a lovely weekend. Until next time..._


	17. I Want to Know What Love Is

Caroline is waiting to pick us up as soon as the plane lands. Matt hops into the driver's seat and I jump in the back. The ride seems to take forever but in fairness to my brother, of course the traffic would be bumper to bumper today of all days. I'm chomping at the bit and I can't sit still.

"Chill," Caroline scolds.

"I can't. I just.. I just need to see her."

"I know Damon. But we can't go any faster. Why don't you try calling her?"

"Because that's impersonal. I can't apologize in a text or a phone call. That would be a real jerk move." She turns to look at me, smiling when our eyes join. Nodding my understanding, I turn to stare out of the car window. By the time we get home from the airport, it's nearly six in the evening. I can't wait any longer to see her. Even if I have to get a motel room and see her in the morning, that's what I'll do. I'm too anxious to wait till tomorrow to drive down there. Once Caroline stops the car, I jump out to go into my apartment so I can grab my car keys and be off.

When I go back outside, Matt is leaning against the side of my car.

"What is it, Matt?"

"You're a bundle of anxiety. I just want to remind you to drive carefully. Call me when you get there okay?" I exhale a breath then wrap my arms around him to give him a hug. I close my eyes when I feel his always protective arms patting my back.

"Wish me luck." Stepping away, he nods with a smile on his face.

"Always little brother. Now go get your girl." After giving me on more pat on the back, he steps away from the car. Nodding, I jump in, turn on the ignition and back out of the driveway. Once I pull out onto the interstate, I roll down the window a little bit hoping the air blowing on my face will help me stay awake. The sun is setting over the horizon as I veer right, getting off the interstate at Elena's exit. I don't even know her room number. Other than calling or texting her, I don't know how to reach her? I guess I can ask around, check the library and so forth. I'll have to get myself a motel room because it's nearly nine pm by the time I pull into town. Slowing down to the speed limit, I look around for motel signs. After driving for several blocks into town, I finally come across one. Fortunately it's near the campus. I pull into a parking spot and go inside to check in. Once I get my room key, I drive my car to the designated spot, get my bag out of the backseat and go inside.

It's been a hectic twenty four hours. Between saving Nick's life and learning the truth about Elena, I know I need to wind down a bit and get something to eat. I haven't eaten since before we left Cabo this morning. I'm starving but my need to get to Elena overrode everything else. Opening up the desk drawer, I breathe a sigh of relief when I find some menus. Hopefully some of them deliver. I'm just too exhausted to drive anymore. I need some sleep so I can find Elena tomorrow. Feeling sleep deprived and somewhat overwhelmed, I drop onto the bed and lower my head onto the pillow and turn on the TV with the remote. Just as my eyes start to drop shut, I'm startled awake by a knock on my room door. Looking through the peep hole, I see it's my food so I open the door.

Even though I feel a little hungry, I don't have much of an appetite. Still, I eat a couple of slices of pizza. Once I finished, I decide to take a shower and get cleaned up. Elena told me once she thought my stubble looked sexy so I guess I won't shave. After shedding my clothes and my leg, I sit down on the edge of the bathtub. Since it doesn't have safety bars like my shower at home, I can't hop in. I swing my leg around and push myself up, pressing my palms against the stall to maintain my balance. I visibly relax when I feel the hot water pummel my sore muscles so I just stand there for several minutes before lathering up a bar of soap and washing myself. When I feel sufficiently tired, I turn off the water, get out, wrap a towel around my waist and hop over to the bed. Using my leg to balance, I pull back the covers and drop onto the bed, falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, dreams of my brown eyed girl swirling through my mind.

* * *

When I wake up the next morning, I stare at the bare ceiling for a few moments. I don't know what I'm going to say to her or how I'm going to approach her. It's been over three months since I've seen or talked to her. It'll serve me right if she reels back and slaps me across the face. If she would've just come clean with me about who he was... I was just so angry and hurt when she went to Elijah behind my back. If only she would've talked to me first rather than being so secretive, this all probably could've been avoided. As such, I have my work cut out for me. Once I sit up, I relax there for a moment before finally putting my leg on so I can get dressed. I don't know how to find her but I'm going to scour the campus.

After walking outside, I put my bag in the trunk and take the key back to the motel office so I can check out. Fortunately for me, this hotel has a continental breakfast. Since I'm too nervous to eat much, I grab a banana and a cup of coffee before getting my receipt and walking outside and over to my car. I take a moment to raise my eyes skyward.

"Grandpa, I could really use your help today." I stand there for a few minutes before finally getting behind the wheel and driving towards Elena's campus. Once I find a parking spot, I get out, lock my car and start to look around. I go into the science building. I look into each classroom but I didn't see her. After going through building after building, I feel my frustration rising. I've been at it for hours already. When I look at my watch, I see it's already after two in the afternoon. Shaking my head, I walk over to a grove of trees and sit down on the bench. Taking my phone in hand, I look for her number. Should I text her or call her? I'd really rather surprise her, less chance of her running if she knows I'm here. Getting up, I start to look around some more. I go into the student union building, the book store and the cafeteria and again no success. Ready to give up, I drop down onto the same bench and pull out my phone. Just as I'm about to press number to call her, out of the corner of my eye, I see a girl with long brown hair running towards one of the dorms.

Immediately recognizing that it's Elena, I run after her as quickly as I can. Given my leg, I'll never win a race. I nearly catch up to her and manage to grab ahold of the door entrance door before it closes and locks. I see her run into an elevator, her hand over her mouth as the door closes. She hasn't seen me yet. I watch which floor the elevator stops at and take the stairs figuring it would be quicker than waiting for the elevator to return. Just as I reach the third floor, I see a door slam, the knob bouncing against the wall behind it. Grandpa must be helping me out because again I reach it just before it closes completely. Sucking in a breath, I go in after her, hoping I do indeed have the right room. When I hear retching, my nerves light up and I go to her as fast as my legs with carry me. It's then that I see her, my legs nearly give out on me. She's kneeling in front of the toilet, circling it with her hands. I quickly gather her hair together so she doesn't vomit on it.

"You're okay. I've got you." Using my other hand, I grab a wash cloth that's sitting on the edge of the sink, moisten it and then place it on the back of her neck.

Frozen in shock, her eyes widen, her mouth drops open and after gawping a couple of times, she finally blurts out, "Damon?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Wha...," she starts to ask before losing her stomach contents again but it looks like it's only bile this time. I can feel her visibly relax when she mutters that she's done. She drops down on the floor, leaning against the bathtub.

"What are you doing here?" Looking completely dumbfounded, she looks at me as if she's still in shock.

"I came to apologize. And I came to tell you that I'm completely and irrevocably in love with you, Elena. I've been an incredible jackass and I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for treating you so abhorrently. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I.. I don't know what to say." Suddenly she grabs the toilet for another round. Once she finishes I help her stand up. After she washes out her mouth, she straightens herself up and starts to walk out of the bathroom. Just as she steps over the threshold, her legs wobble. Seeing that she's going down, I get behind her to lower her to the floor so she doesn't get hurt. Her forehead isn't hot when I feel to check for fever yet she's out cold. I gather her into my arms and carry her out to the elevator.

"Hey man, what are you doing with Elena?" some guy asks, stalking over towards me.

"She fainted. Is there a hospital or emergency clinic nearby?"

"The hospital is about five miles down the road. Come on, I'll help you get her to your car. My name is Mike and you are?"

"I'm Damon. Elena interned with me all summer," I answer him, my eyes never leaving Elena's beautiful face.

"You're that Damon," he replies, emphasizing the word 'that'. Although I don't like the sound of that, I keep my mouth shut because I have to stay focused on her right now. Once we get to my car, I ask him to take Elena for a minute while I dig my car keys out of my pocket. I open the door and carefully put her inside then reach over to secure her with the seatbelt.

"Thanks man." Offering him my hand, he takes it, shaking firmly.

"No problem. You tell her to give big Mike a text when she can so I know she's okay."

"I think she just fainted but I'll pass along the message. Thank you again," After giving him a nod, I quickly jump into the driver's seat and take off for the hospital. I pull into the emergency room parking area, jump out and run inside to tell them I need help. Then I run back out and carefully lift her in my arms again. After taking a deep breath, I follow the nurse to one of the rooms and lay her down carefully on the exam table. The nurse takes her vital signs and asks me what happened. Not knowing how long she's been under the weather, I just tell the nurse what I know.

Just after the nurse leaves the room to talk to the doctor, Elena starts to stir. When she starts trying to sit up, I jump out of my chair and stand beside her. "Lay back sweetheart. You're in the emergency room."

"Why am I at the hospital?" she asks, looking completely baffled.

"You fainted Elena, after vomiting so much. I thought you might be dehydrated."

"Why are you here anyway? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?"

"I told you that I came to apologize and to ask if you'd consider giving us," I ask, motioning between the two of us with my hand, "another try."

"Damon?"

"I know Elena, I care about you so much. I've been miserable these last three months. If you want to know the God's honest truth, I haven't been with any other woman since you left. You're all I want," I explain, wearing my heart on my sleeve, hoping she believes me.

"I don't know what to say?"

"Say yes." She stares into my eyes and I can't help myself so I stand up and take her hands in mine and press a feather light kiss to the crown of her head. "I know we both made mistakes Elena. Both of us. But we have something. And I want to explore whatever this something is with you. I'm in love with you, Elena," I whisper, dropping one more kiss to her hair. As I stare into her eyes, I pull her to my chest when tears begin to trail down her cheeks.

"I..," she starts to say when the nurse comes back into the room to check her vitals once more before starting an IV. I hold her hand while the nurse sticks the needle in. Once she has the IV fluids running into Elena's vein, she adjusts the rate on the IV pump that's in the room.

"How are you feeling Miss Gilbert?" the nurse asks.

"Better." She stares at me for a second longer before turning to look at the nurse.

"I need you to take this cup and give me a little urine. I have some anti-nausea medicine in this syringe. I'm just going to inject into your IV line," she explains. After cleaning off the port on the IV tubing with an alcohol swab, she pushes the medicine in.

"I'll take you to the bathroom now." Elena gets up and follows her out of the exam room. She comes back several minutes later carrying her urine specimen. After helping her back on the exam table, I sit back down just as the nurse walks back in.

"I'll take that." Taking Elena's urine cup with her gloved hands, she puts it in a biohazard bag to secure it. "Dr. Lew will be in shortly and I'm going to send this to the lab." Just as we're about to talk, the doctor steps inside.

"Hello Miss Gilbert. I'm Dr. Lew. Can you tell me what's going on today?" After she explains everything, the nurse comes in, handing him a piece of paper. When he's done looking it over, he looks at her.

"You're pregnant. I believe you have ' _Hyperemesis Gravidarum_ ' he explains. "That is a fancy word for severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy."

"No, no, no," she squeaks, her eyes wide and full of fear. Her mouth opens and closes without making a sound for several seconds. Her eyes are wild almost like a caged animal looking for any means to escape. When she starts to hyperventilate, she squeaks, "My hands are getting numb."

"Look at me," Dr. Lew says to her. "In through your nose, out through your mouth. Slow and steady, that's it, Miss Gilbert," Finally she starts to settle down as her breathing begins to even out.

"Obviously, this is unexpected news," he mentions, as he puts his stethoscope to her back and listens to her lungs.

"Are you kidding me? Of course it's unexpected. I've always been irregular so that never crossed my mind," she explains, her eyes wild, jumping back and forth between me and Dr. Lew.

"So you had no clue?" I ask incredulously.

"Of course not, Damon. Despite everything, do you really think so little of me that you actually believe that I'd keep your child from you? Oh my gosh, what are we going to do? I have school to finish," she mumbles, shaking her head back and forth, seemingly still unable to comprehend our new reality.

"No of course not, Elena. It's as much of a surprise to me as it is to you." When I feel my knees beginning to weaken, I drop into the chair behind me. What a rush, I think to myself. Blowing out a big puff of air, I scrub my palm over my face, shuddering a bit. A baby is is the last thing I expected to drop on me today. I mean, she and I aren't even really a couple. I know in my heart that I love her but are we ready to be parents when our relationship is up in the air at best? I have no idea of where we go from here. Does she even want a relationship with me? I do know that I want to be part of my child's life. _My child,_ what a head trip, I utter under my breath, still in shock.

She stares at me like a deer in the headlights. "I'm completely blown away," she stutters, turning her eyes from mine to Dr. Lew.

"Why don't we do a sonogram so you know how far along this is? You should be seeing an obstetrician soon though," he informs us.

"I'd like that," I reply, standing up to take her hand, giving it a light squeeze. After twenty minutes or so, someone comes into our room with a big machine.

"Miss Gilbert? My name is Olivia, I'm an ultrasound tech. I'll be doing your sonogram." After explain to us what's going on, She reaches into a cupboard to hand Elena a hospital gown.

"I'll step out for a minute so you can change into that. Take your panties off too and then lay on the exam table. Here's a sheet to drape yourself with." After handing it to Elena, she slips out of the room.

She stands up and slides her jeans and panties down her legs but turns away slightly when she pulls her tee shirt off, quickly covering herself with the gown. It bothers me that she still wants to hide herself. Swallowing thickly, I hold my tongue because I don't want to upset her anymore right now.

Once Elena has the gown on, I help her get back onto the exam table then step out to see if Olivia is nearby. When she sees me, she smiles and says something to the guy she's talking to before coming back into our room. Elena is already laying down and ready. Olivia lubricates the probe. After explaining that it goes into the vagina, she carefully inserts it so we can see our baby. Our mouths drop at the same time when we see the screen come to life.

"See that flickering, that's your baby's heartbeat," she informs us, pointing to the image on the screen. She goes onto point to the kidneys and spinal cord and its four-chambered heart. She tells us that the heart rate is in the one sixties. I'm in awe of what I'm seeing and I realize that I'm holding Elena's hand again. When I raise my eyes to hers, she has tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face. I can't help but smile too as I look at our child.

"I love you so much," I tell her softly but my eyes remain glued to the screen. Looking down at our hands when I feel her place one of hers on top of mine.

"We made a baby," she gushes, squeezing.

"We made a baby," I repeat, completely over the moon for this girl and my child.

"According to my measurements, you're about fourteen weeks pregnant," Olivia informs us, smiling. After removing the probe from Elena, she cleans it up, washes her hands and begins to push the machine out of our room. "Good luck now." Once she's out of our room, I stoop over to give her a kiss that's interrupted when Dr. Lew walks back in.

"I'm going to order you some nausea medicine, Elena. Take one three times a day until you feel better. I've written a script for two weeks worth of Zofran. But you need to make an OB appointment. Do you understand?"

"Yes, thank you doctor," we both tell him.

"You can get dressed now. I'll send your nurse back in with your discharge instructions and your prescription. Good luck now." He gives us one last look before walking out of our room. Just as Elena finishes getting dressed, the nurse walks back into our room.

"Here is some information for you and a list of OB/GYN doctors. You're already into your second trimester so you need to make an appointment as soon as possible. Do you have any questions?" she asks as she hands Elena a stack of pamphlets. Both of us shake our head no.

"I'll escort you out then." Once we get back to my car, I open the door for her. Still in a daze, I crawl into the driver's seat and just stare into nothingness for a several minutes.

"Damon?"

"Sorry, I was just daydreaming. I never dreamed this day would end like this. We're going to have a baby, Elena. Do you believe it?" Turning to look at her, I find myself unable to suppress the big goofy grin that plays on my face. Taking her hands in mine, I press a kiss to her fingers, my heart growing with each touch of my lips on her skin.

* * *

Deciding that the two of us need to talk, I find a nice motel room. This really isn't a conversation to be held in a dorm room. Once I unlock the door, I step aside to let her walk in. My head is still in a daze after learning I'm going to be a dad. If it's a boy, I hope she'll let me name him after my grandfather. I miss him more than I can put into words.

"Are you hungry? I mean, we could go out or I can have something delivered?" She's not saying anything, she's looking at the room, running her hand across the desktop. When she turns around to make eye contact, she smiles tensely.

"No, I'm not hungry, at least not yet." Turning her back on me, she walks into the bathroom and disappears inside. Not knowing what to do, I collapse onto the edge of the bed, dropping my face into my hands. I'm so into the zone, I don't even hear her come out of the bathroom. It's only when I feel the bed dip that I raise my eyes.

"Elena, I don't know how to apologize enough. I treated you abysmally and I'm sorry for that. Nothing I can say or do will make up for my abhorrent behavior. I am so sorry. But I don't understand how you could go behind my back like you did?" My eyes never leave hers as I continue.

"I saw Nick's TV commercial showing a panorama of the island. I almost didn't recognize it until there was a close up shot and then I lost it completely. I was so angry I couldn't see anything beyond betrayal. Then he taunts me with the fact that you were the one who gave him the keys to the kingdom as it were, I couldn't fathom such a thing," I add, turning away from her for a minute to get my emotions back under control.

"I realize now that you were just trying to help me out and I love you for it, I do, but you should've talked to me. You hid your connection to Elijah from me, you kept so much of yourself shielded from me. Why?"

"Damon, I.. I..," she starts to say but drops her eyes to stare at her clasped hands.

"Did some guy hurt you that you're so self conscious about your scar? Surely you had to know that I would never have looked at you differently. Look at me, Elena, I'm a cripple myself. I have been since I was eight years old. You have no idea what it's like to have everyone stare at a one legged little kid. One of the happiest days of my life was when I got my first prosthetic leg and learned to walk again." I hear her inhale deeply and then her eyes meet mine.

"There was a guy I dated during our freshman year. Um.. when we got to the point of wanting to sleep together, he saw my scar and asked me to keep it covered. I've been self conscious about it ever since. He was literally repulsed by it."

"I'm sorry, Elena... There is literally nothing repulsive about you or your scar for that matter."

"Thank you," she says, closing her eyes momentarily before gazing deeply into mine.

"I was very wrong to go to Elijah behind your back. I really wanted to help you to accomplish your dream but I went about it in all the wrong ways. I realize that now. When I talked to Elijah, he was very interested in your proposal. I promise you, I didn't tell Nick. I have no clue as to how he found out or how he exploited it immediately. I asked Elijah but he said he didn't know at the time. The only thing I can think of is that somehow he saw the file I left with Elijah," she explains, placing her hands atop mine.

"No more secrets okay?"

"No more secrets," she agrees. I stare from her mouth to her eyes and back to her mouth as I lean in and steal a blistering kiss form her lips, deepening it when she responds. Cradling her face with my palms, I tilt her head as our lips slide against each others till she pulls back breathlessly.

"I missed that," she whispers before sliding over a little bit on the bed, putting a little distance between us.

"About the baby, Damon. What are we going to do? I mean, I'm going to finish school. Is this even something you want? Surely this was the last thing you expected to drop into your lap today?"

"So... a baby... You're right about that. It's mind boggling." After sucking in a deep cleansing breath, I reach for her hands.

"I want to be with you Elena. I want to raise our child together. And I want you to finish college which means we'll have to do the long distance thing until you graduate. Are you up for that?" I ask, hoping upon hope that she is. As my eyes stare into hers, I watch as her eyes fill with tears again. She drops her gaze and tries to wipe them away.

"Elena.. um.. how do you feel about this?"

"I'm okay. I'm so happy and yet I'm scared to death. I love you, Damon."

"And I love you." Lost in my thoughts for a moment, a smile forms on my face when I realize how good it feels to be able to say that. When I feel her hand on my forearm, I snap out of my musings.

"Come here," I tell her spreading my arms so she can snuggle in next to me. When I wrap them around her, I pull her close and bury my face in her hair so I can breathe in her unique scent again.

"This is so right, Elena." Giving her a careful squeeze, I start peppering the top of her head with kisses, pulling back when she starts to giggle.

"What?"

"Jeremy is going to kill you." I stare at her for a moment before a smile plays on my lips.

"He is indeed," I laugh, hugging her even closer, completely in awe of how my life has changed in the span of an afternoon.

* * *

Once we finished clearing the air, I took her to a restaurant so she can get some food in her belly. The nausea medicine seemed to work because she says she feels hungry. By the time we get back to our room, the sun is beginning to set on the horizon. I take her hand and we just walk for a little while, ending up in a park near the motel.

"I forgot to tell you that 'big Mike' said to have you text him. I can see why they call him 'big'. The guy is a monster," I shudder teasingly.

"He's a teddy bear, Damon," she laughs, using her phone to text him. We sit down on the park bench and just enjoy the beauty of the sunset. Since it's getting pretty dark, I take her hand so we can go back to our room.

"Do you have any early classes in the morning? I mean, I'd like you to stay with me but if you have to get up early, I can take you back."

"My first class isn't till noon. I want to stay with you too," she whispers, raising up on her tip toes to kiss my cheek. A big smile appears on my face at the same time I pull her into my arms to give her a big hug."

"Let's hurry back to our room," she says softly, eyeing me seductively. Taking her hand, the two of us practically gallop back to the motel. Once inside the door, she shoves me against it, slamming it closed. She grabs the bottom of tee shirt and practically takes my head off when pulls it over my head. Despite the situation we unexpectedly find ourselves in, my mind is buzzing only with Elena, I can't help it, I need to be inside of her.

"Much better," she breathes, palming my chest with her hands, I drop my head back against the door when she teases one of my nipples with her tongue. She presses her lips around it suckling gently. She pulls away with a wet plop before doing the same to my other side. I'm struggling to catch a breath when I feel one of her hands unbutton the clasp on my jeans. When they drop to my feet, she pushes her hand inside my boxers. Taking my molten, pulsating manhood in her hand, she strokes me till my erection is tenting my boxers, pre-cum moistening the fabric.

"Bed," I barely blurt out, my knees weakening. She lets go long enough to push my boxers down my legs. When she reaches for me again, I take her wrist, pulling her towards the bed. She turns the tables and pushes me down. Pausing a moment to take my leg off, she lays it on the floor then crawls up my body, smiling up at me when she takes me inside her mouth. Using the tip of her tongue to invade the slit, she teases running her tongue along the length of it. Unable to maintain eye contact, my head falls onto the pillow, my eyes rolling back. I grab onto her hair gently, using my hand to help with the rhythm she's established. My breath coming in gasps and spurts as my hips arch to meet each bob of her head. Unable to hold back, my body erupts into a frenzy of blissful explosions at the same time a cry of ecstasy escapes my lips.

Once I waft back down to earth, I can feel my body again, I roll onto my side to face Elena. A satisfied smirk playing on her face. "That was...," I whisper, shaking my head back and forth. I pull her body against mine, pressing a scorching kiss to her lips.

"You're wearing too many clothes," I pout as I unclasp her jeans, kneeling to pull her skinny jeans along with her panties down her svelte legs. As I grab onto the hem of her tee shirt, I look at her eyes, hoping she'll let me take it off this time?

When I see her subtle nod, I slowly peel it off when she raises her body enough so I can pull it over her head. I pull her against my chest so I can unhook her bra. I then gently lay her back down on the bed as I pull it down her arms, tossing it behind me.

"You're so beautiful, Elena," I whisper, in awe. I cup her perfectly-shaped breasts, feeling her nipples harden in my hands as I knead and caress them. I lower head and take one in my mouth, capturing the nipple between my teeth biting gently. I feel her hand in my hair as she presses my face into her chest. Suckling gently, I use my right hand, to roll her neglected nipple gently yet firmly. Her back arches, pushing it further into my mouth. Pulling away, I start to kiss down her body till I reach the cleft between her legs, finding her moist and wanting. I lick and stroke when she starts to writhe and her breathing hitches, I push a finger inside, stroking her front wall. Smiling against her flesh when she starts to ride my finger, I press a second one in as I continue to caress her creamy flesh, reveling when she cums with the cry of my name on her lips.

Using my fingers, I stroke her through it. Once she's coherent again, I roll her onto her side, raise her leg over my hip and push inside, joining us together. I take a moment to get my bearings because the feeling of being inside of her is beyond description. Using my fingertips, I gently tap and rub my fingers along her scar then press my palm on her side, pulling her closer.

"It's part of who you are, Elena. It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's perfect. And it's beautiful and we've each been touched by those magnificent creatures," I whisper in her ear before pulling the lobe into my mouth, sucking at it and nipping it with my teeth. I start to move in and out of her body as the sounds of flesh slamming against flesh fills the room. Using my body, I buck and arch as I collide with her body in a frantic coupling. Her breaths are coming out in gasps as she whimpers and moans aloud.

Pulling out, I help her roll onto her knees. I move behind and plunge back into her wet, engorged flesh. Delving deeper with each push, I grab onto her hips, pulling her into me. Using my own hips, I start to gyrate in slow, insistent circles. When I feel my lower belly coiling tighter, I start to thrust wildly when I hear her scream my name, her body convulsing in bursts of pleasure. Teetering on the edge myself, I drive into her even harder till I explode into frenzy of simultaneous explosions as I spill inside of her. I hang on until I can't hold myself up any longer, collapsing onto the bed beside her.

My chest is heaving yet somehow I manage to find the strength to pull her into my arms, stroking her back as she cuddles in next to me.

"Can we do that again?" she whispers, a heady smile on her lips.

"Oh sweetheart, we're just beginning...," I whisper, pressing a kiss to her crown, imagining all the ways that I can show her how much I love her.

* * *

 _Almost sixty five hundred words of DE goodness. Two of the chapters in 'Rainy Days' are longer than this one so you have that to look forward to when we get there._

 _One chapter left :(_

 _Thank you so much for everything Eva. This was just as much a labor of love for you as it was me due to our shared love of these beautiful and fascinating sea creatures. And I want to thank all of you for taking an interest in this story. You have no idea how grateful I am that you've made this story a success. I just love sharks and I love watching 'Shark Week'. I've been fascinated by them since I was a little girl. 'Jaws' is still the only movie that I ever screamed in.._

 _Title: 'I Want to Know What Love Is' by 'Mariah Carey'_

 _I'm sure you all know by now that I love DE babies..._

 _Please give 'Rainy Days and Mondays' and 'Tears in Heaven' a look. 'What if I was Nothing' has just concluded'. I would love for you to give 'Love Story' a look too. Thank you all so much for your enduring support for my stories. I appreciate it more than you know._

 _Eva and I are hard at work on two stories. They're both in their infancy yet so I can't share more than that right now. It helps me to have another story to fall back on if I get stuck. That's another reason why I write my stories in their entirety before I ever post them. That way you're not kept waiting for a chapter when I do get stuck. Plus you're always guaranteed to get to read the final chapter. SO please remember to leave a REVIEW***_

 _As always, stay safe and have a wonderful weekend. Until next time._


	18. Run for the Roses

Approximately eighteen months later:

We're all gathered together, friends, family and associates because today is finally ' _the day_ ". My island is now a protected preserve, a safe haven as it were for the wildlife that inhabits the waters in and around it. Scientists will be able to study its secrets and the opportunity for knowledge is unfathomable. Elijah is actually building a science lab on the property with every modern piece of equipment known to man. We'll have robots, much like the ones that explored Titanic back in the day but they're much more advanced now. They can reach the depths so we can see the 'Frilled sharks as they swim into and out of the area. Also my white sharks have been known to swim in and around the waters surrounding the island too. It's meant to be self sustaining. It will gather data and transmit it to our servers here.

Elijah has also made one floor available as living quarters for us to stay when we're on sight to study. The roof of the building is a helipad. Matt, Brady, Ric and I are going to be spending a couple of weeks there next summer. Elena and Caroline plan to join us for a few days too. Mom and dad are going to fly here to the west coast so they can babysit for us and lastly Nick will also be there to participate. When I hear my name, I turn to look at my beautiful wife. Lacing my fingers with hers, I bring her hand up to place a kiss to her palm just below her thumb.

"This has been an amazing day. Are you happy?" Reaching up, she palms my face for a quick second before wiping Jake's runny nose.

"Do you even need to ask?" As hard as I worked to have this island preserved, the feeling doesn't begin to compare to the happiness and love I've found with Elena and our son. I never dreamed I would find someone like her. She didn't see me as a cripple, she saw me for who I am. I grow to love her more as each day passes.

"Da..," Smiling when I hear his little voice behind me, I raise my hand, pulling his tiny one to my mouth to kiss it before letting go. Our son, Jake is hanging on my back in the baby carrier. He's thirteen months old already and the light of both of our lives. I turn my head when he starts pulling on my ear and reach up to gently pry his fingers loose. Having a long distance romance was trying to say the least as we counted down the months till Elena finally graduated. We managed to a have a rather small wedding with our close friends and family during that time. After the wedding, I took a short leave of absence so we wouldn't have to be apart. I would never have forgiven myself if I had missed Jake's birth. One of my proudest Elena moments was when we all went to the beach for a picnic. Elena, no longer ashamed of her body, wore a bikini.

When I hear my name, I turn and smile widely when I see my family walking towards the three of us. I'm really taken aback when I see that Stefan and Katherine are here as well, their little girl, Lisa, walking between them. Matt and Caroline are here someplace too as are Ric and Jenna. Brady had to fly home to Florida because his mom was having open heart surgery. Bonnie is here in his place and will fly to Florida to be with him tomorrow. I give my mom a kiss and my dad a hug when they reach us.

"You're here, thank you so much. You can't know how much this means to me." I can't help the giddy grin that forms on my face seeing that they're here to celebrate this day with me and my team.

"I'm so glad you came, Stefan. How's my favorite little girl?" I ask, stooping down slightly to give little Lisa a hug and kiss on her forehead.

"I good, Uncle Damon." She's two and has her parents completely wrapped around her little finger. Of course, I'm one to talk. Jake has done the same with Elena and me. Amazingly, he was born on my grandpa's birthday. I'll be forever grateful to Elena for letting me give him Grandpa's name. Hardly a day goes by that I don't have a thought or two of him.

"Congratulations Damon," Matt greets me with a huge smile on his face.

"This is just as much your victory as it is mine, Matt. Thank you for always being here and for always having my back." Knowing that none of this would have been possible without my big brother, I reach over to wrap him in a hug.

When we pull apart, he gives me a fist bump, "Together forever, little brother." I smile widely myself, nodding enthusiastically. When I hear a "hello mate," I turn and smile, seeing Nick and Jules walking over to me.

"How's my little man?" he asks, shaking Jake's hand adorably.

"I'm glad you made it, Nick. Thank you." Smiling sincerely, I shake his hand when he finishes with Jake.

"Wouldn't miss it buddy," he tells me sincerely, squeezing my shoulder. After introducing him and Jules to my family, he walks over to Stefan. My mouth drops slightly as I watch the two of them get along famously. Raising my eyes, I start to laugh.

"What?" Elena asks.

"Who knew Stefan and Nick would hit it off?"

"They are a bit of a mismatched pair, that's for sure. Nick has really changed," Elena muses.

"He sure has."

 _"Walter told me that you wanted to speak to me?" I mention when Elijah's secretary shows me into his office._

 _"Have a seat, Damon. Would you like something to drink, water, soda, a cup of coffee?"_

 _"Water would be fine, thank you." When his secretary comes back, she hands me a bottle of water. Tipping it to my mouth, I almost choke when I see Nick walk into the room just as the secretary pulls the door closed, leaving the three of us alone. I stare at him for a few seconds before turning to Elijah._

 _"What's he doing here?" Fisting my hands, it takes everything in me not to spew anymore venom at him, knowing he's Elijah's brother._

 _"I will explain as soon as Nick has a seat." Once he sits down, Elijah goes onto explain that he'd very much appreciate it if I were to take Nick under my wing. We're to be partners of sorts. He demands that Nick stop killing sharks for sport. He also assured me that the deal wasn't contingent on me working with his brother. But I could see that he really wanted me to help Nick turn over a new leaf as it were._

 _"I want you to show Nick what it is that you see in sharks. I won't be a party to anymore slaughter," he says, tenting his fingers as he turns his attention from me to his brother._

 _"You want Nick and me to work together?"_

 _"That's exactly what I want."_

 _Shaking my head incredulously, I look first at Nick and then at Elijah. "I don't know..."_

 _"Damon, I never got to thank you for saving my life. I'm willing to put our differences behind us if you are?" Nick adds, turning to look me in the eyes. I return his gaze, looking away only when I hear Elijah speak again._

 _"I also want you to be the head of the island's conservatory. I'm pondering the idea of a science lab with top of the line equipment on site. I was thinking it could include some lodging space so you and others could spend extended periods of time studying the place. I would very much like it if you and Nick could find some common ground and build from there."_

 _Knowing that this is important to Elijah, I nod slightly. After all, I'll never be able to thank him enough for protecting the island and it's inhabitants from slaughter. "_

 _Alright. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones for now," I concede, wondering what I'm getting myself into._

 _"Gentlemen, we have an agreement then. I'm flying to Washington DC tomorrow to go over the final draft proposal that you drew up."_

 _"That's wonderful news, Elijah." Standing up, I shake his hand vigorously. He gestures with his eyes to Nick. Rolling my eyes discreetly, I turn to face Nick and offer him my hand._

 _"Here's to new beginnings," Nick says, his voice sincere as he takes my hand in his own._

* * *

A couple of weeks after that meeting, Elijah invited Matt and me to fly down to Cabo with him and Nick. With Walter's okay, we did go along. Elijah rented a helicopter the next day so we could view the island from the air. Fortunately there was a clearing on one end of the island allowing the pilot to set the chopper down.

The land mass is so big that we weren't able to explore it all in one day. The next day we flew back with gear in tow so we could camp out. Matt and I took off in one direction with cameras while Nick and Elijah took off in the other. The flora and fauna of the place is gorgeous too. Most of the shoreline is too rocky and dangerous to gain landfall by boat which is good because not everyone can afford to rent a helicopter for a day or two.

Once we mapped it out and concluded our mission for lack of a better word, we flew home. Nick started showing up at my work place with Walter's approval so I could show him what we've learned about the sharks. I show him some of the footage of sharks that we've recorded over the last couple of years and that we've named a few of them as they have identifying scars or other marks. He was completely overwhelmed and apologized profusely for killing them. Once he had that breakthrough, we were able to put all of our past animosity behind us and work together.

The whole lot of us attended Jules and Nick's wedding. Elena was nearly ready to pop by then but still managed to have a good time. Matt and Caroline had a son born a year after Jake. His name is William or Will, named after Caroline's father. I love my niece and nephew so much. I'm Will's Godfather as Matt is Jake's.

Not long after Jake was born, Elena and I flew back to Cape Hatteras to introduce my parents to their first grandson. While Elena and my mom were out shopping with the baby, I went for a walk ending up at my grandfather's grave. I stopped in the flower store on the way over to get some for grandpa's grave and to say hi to Luke. He and I went to grade and high school together. After choosing a bouquet of flowers, we visit for a little while, catching up with each other. Once I left the store, I walked the rest of the way to the cemetery.

Matt, Stefan and I bought a bench to sit next to his and grandma's graves. It's engraved with our last name with love from the three of us. I slip a picture of Jake into the card holder before stooping down and laying the flowers on their graves. They share a headstone. Grandpa's name and birthdate had already been carved in it for when he would join grandma. They added the day he died some months after the fact. I remember running my fingers along the scroll work and his name as tears filled my eyes.

I sat down on the bench and told him all about my life and how it's changed so much since he went away. Somehow I knew he can hear me. When I got up to leave, I laid my palm on top of the stone and closed my eyes. It's only when I heard the caw of a crow that I opened them. It seemed to stare at me before it cawed again and flew off, landing in a tree.

"I knew you could hear me, grandpa," I recall telling him. With a shake of my head and a smile, I walked out of the cemetery.

* * *

"Did you get him to sleep?" Elena asks when I walk back into the bedroom.

"Yeah, I had to read him two stories but he finally dropped off. The little guy had a big day."

"And don't forget we have the picnic tomorrow. The day after that your parents, Stefan and Katherine are flying back to the Cape."

"I know. I wish they could stay a little longer." After crawling into bed beside my wife, I reach over to turn my bedside lamp on before picking up my book. Opening it up at the book mark, I settle against the headboard and start to read, _'Jurassic Park'._

"How is it?" Elena asks, her nose buried in her magazine.

"It's good. I like all of Michael Crichton's books."

"I know you do." Sliding over, she gives me a nudge before pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"I'm tired, I'm going to go to sleep now. Goodnight sweetheart."

"Goodnight Elena. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispers, pulling the covers up to her neck. I read for approximately an hour before getting up to check on Jake once more. When I walk in, he's wide awake but laying quietly in his crib.

"Little man, why are you still awake?" Since I didn't want to strap my leg back on, I just grabbed my crutches to use before going into his room. Leaning them against the side of the crib, I carefully lift him up, pivot and set him down on the changing table.

"Da da..," he squeals, reaching for my face with his little hands. Pressing a kiss to his hair, I check his diaper only to find him soaking wet. With a yawn, I reach for a new diaper, hand him his pacifier, clean his bottom and then the two of us drop down into the rocking chair. In no time at all, I doze off, my son snoozing on my chest.

I startle awake when I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Ssshh Damon. I woke up and you weren't there," Elena whispers, stooping down to press a kiss to our son's head and one to my lips. She carefully takes him in her arms, placing him back in his crib. Reaching for my crutches, I stand up and hobble back to our room, Elena behind me.

"I'm just going to use the bathroom. I'll be right back." After finishing my business, I reach up to wash and dry my hands, it only then that I notice what's sitting at the edge of the sink with a little ribbon wrapped around it. My mouth drops wide after I look at the symbol. Taking it in hand, I hop back into our bedroom, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're pregnant?"

"I am." Smiling widely, she pats the bedside, inviting me to come back to bed.

"I love you so much," I gush, wrapping her in my arms and lifting a scorching hot kiss from her lush, full lips.

"So it's okay?"

"Need you even ask, silly?"

"I'm glad," she whispers, dropping another white hot kiss to my lips before pulling me on top of her. I bury my face in her neck, nuzzling and nipping and peppering her with exquisite body with kisses. When I hear her yawn, I raise up and roll off of her. Pulling her back to my front, I wrap an arm around her middle. Once I close my I eyes, I revel in the feeling of my beautiful, newly pregnant wife in my arms. When I notice how her breathing has evened out, I know she's fallen back to sleep. I press a kiss to her shoulder, lay my head on the pillow and close my eyes. Before long, I'm lost in dreamland, a smile on my face as I'm imagining holding our new little life in one arm and Jake in the other. I snuggle in closer, burying my face in her hair.

My grandpa always told me to be a good man and keep my head held high. I open my eyes for a moment, raising them upward, "Thank you grandpa," I whisper then bury my face in Elena's hair, splaying my hand across her lower belly. When I finally close my eyes, my mind fills with visions of Elena, heavy with my child as I hover on the edge between wake and sleep. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would have such a phenomenal life after that shark took a piece of me away with it...

 _Ladies and gentlemen, I like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Damon Salvatore. We walk down the aisle to thunderous applause as rice and rose petals rain down on us. As we take our seats for the meal, my brother Matt stands up, turns to look at Elena and then places one hand on my shoulder while raising his glass with the other._

 _"You're my little brother and my very best friend. To Damon and Elena," he toasts, squeezing my shoulder firmly. We all raise our glasses and take a swallow from our of champagne flutes. I give Elena a sip but she doesn't want to take anymore than that. Pushing back my chair I stand up and embrace him. When I pull back, I take Elena's hand urging her to stand._

 _"Thank you all for coming. As I look out over the crowd and then to everyone seated at the head table, I raise my own glass. I just have one toast to make," I mention, staring at Jeremy._

 _"Jeremy's fist and my face have had a few run ins. I just want to thank him for not giving me a black eye to wear today," I tease, placing the glass to my lips. After the laughter dies down, I pull Elena to stand up next to me, I splay my hand across her beautiful baby bump._

 _When the day is over and the crowd has dispersed, I carry Elena over the threshold of our new log home, set on five acres in the woods. It's beautiful and it's private and it's everything I could want. Once I have her in our bedroom, I painstakingly open every one of her pearl buttons._

 _"Holy mother, how long did it take to get these all buttoned?" I ask, frustrated because it's slow going._

 _"Too long," she whispers, shimmying her hips suggestively. Once I have her free of her gown, I lay her on the bed and peel her stockings and her garter belt down her long shapely legs. When I have her naked and spread out before me on the bed, I practically tear off my tux. Licking my lips, I stalk over to the bed and begin kissing her from her feet all the way to her neck, paying special attention to her scar as I pepper it with licks and kisses._

 _Elena grabs onto of my underarms and pulls me up so she can mold her lips with mine, sending me to the promised land with just the promise of what's to come._

 _"Mmm sweetheart, much too long," I tell her as I nuzzle her neck, burying my face in the space between her shoulder and her neck. When I pull back I can't help but stare at the beautiful creature who's now my wife._

 _"What's that face?" she asks, palming my cheek._

 _"I'm happy." After giving her a wink and flash of my eye thing, I begin my decent down her body..._

 _The End._

* * *

 _Thank you so much Eva. I love you my friend and sister that I never had. Thank you my dear Kate for this cover and for all of the covers to my stories. Do give her stories (Florencia7) a read, she writes DE brilliantly._

 _Title: 'Run for the Roses' by Dan Fogelberg_

 _Thank you, all of you so much for giving this a read. I can't thank you enough for making it a success._

 _Please give 'Tears in Heaven' and 'Rainy Days and Mondays' a read. They both still have many chapters left to post._

 _Remember *Reviews are Love*_

 _Still hard at work on 'Dig' and 'Angels Fall'.. Watch for a preview when they're closer to completion._

 _As I turn out the lights on this story, thank you again for everything. This story only needs 15 reviews to hit the 200 mark. Please help me with that._

 _As always, have a safe and wonderful weekend._


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